Zero
by Erricane
Summary: After receiving a clue from Nick on Christmas Eve, Max has decided to meet his real family after the New Years. However, what he came across was something he wished he would never return to. His roots…
1. An Unexpected Reunion

**A/N:** _Well… This is it. The final Zootopia fanfiction I'll ever write. I really put a lot of thought into it and finally decided to do it. I hope all of you are still with me on this one. I'm just glad I managed to finish writing the Ball. Yes, it will be rated M all the way. Due to language, violence and gore. These were the reasons why I never wanted to post it. But since this will be the last time I'll ever write a Zootopia story, I might as well go all out. It will have 26 chapters. And I hope to update each chapter as soon as I can._

 **Summary:** _After receiving a clue from Nick on Christmas Eve, Max has decided to meet his real family after the New Years. However, what he came across was something he wished he would never return to. His roots…_

 **Disclaimer:** _All characters belong to me but the movie itself is Disney's._

* * *

New year eve… Mammals call it the beginning of a new life. But for a certain fox, he has never had the idea of starting a new life. In fact, his new life began long ago last April. The problem now is that he has no goals nor thoughts for his future. Most of his time would be working at YakDonald for 8 hours a day with 1 day off a week. Every night, he would come home at 7pm and will be greeted by a hare's "Welcome home". But the first thing he would do the moment he stepped into his house would be lying on the couch, trying to nap. And that sort of thing is happening right now…

"Max, seriously…" Sophie said placing her paws on her hips. "New year is tonight. Go and take a shower already. I wanna watch the fireworks."

"Then watch it…" Max said, placing his paws under his head while laying on the couch. "Not like I give a shit… I see fireworks at parties a lot of times. Even festivals and many more. So it won't change a thing."

"But… This is the new year. And I wanna watch it with you!" Sophie's arms started flailing as she tried to persuade her boyfriend. "And plus, the sunrise! I heard that if you witness the first sunrise of new year, good things are sure to happen. And I wanna use this chance for us!"

"Sorry, Soph. But I don't believe in luck. You can have it all to yourself for all I care." He turned to the side, facing the television as his eyes closed slowly.

Sophie's nose twitched in anger and stepped in front of him.

He noticed her presence and looked up at her. "What?"

She stared at him for a few seconds then kneel to his height and closed her eyes. She grabbed his paw and took off one of his gloves then held the bare paw in both of hers. She slowly opened her eyes, giving him a sad look. "Please…" she said in a tone as if she's about to cry.

The fox stared at her blankly. It looked uneffective but on in the inside, he felt an impact in his heart. He blinked a few times and sighed, shaking her paws off of his before getting off the couch. "I'll go get ready…" he said lazily after retrieving his glove that she took off.

And as he walked down the stairs to their room to take a shower, the hare grinned gleefully. " _Yes!_ " she thought, thrusting her arm back in victory.

Making his way to the bathroom, the young fox began taking off his clothes and tossing them into the laundry basket for tomorrow to wash. He then took off the other glove that he was still wearing and placed the pair on the drawer next to the bed. Proceeding to the shower, the first thing he saw was his reflection on the mirror at the bathroom sink. He looked at himself.

He noticed the many scars that he has gotten over the past 8 years all over his body. He looked at them carefully and touched them. All of them… Parts of his body that will never grow his fur back. He sighed in disappointment.

"What the fuck have I been doing all this time…?" he asked himself, still touching the rest that he left out. He then noticed his claws. And pulled them away from his body and looked at them closely. "They've gotten sharper lately…" he commented.

He didn't understand why, but his claws would grow overtime. He once cut them before when he was a kit but they eventually grew back rapidly like a crocodile's teeth. It was rather ironic considering the leather of his gloves were made of crocodile skin.

Besides, his claws becoming unusually sharper, the fangs that he developed 3 years ago began growing again but a little. He remembered what the dentist said even. It wasn't normal for a fox to have fangs sticking out. Especially in his case, it even grew larger than the dentist expected. But, it was still considered an adult teeth since it is impossible to remove it.

He then noticed about something else. His height. Before, he knew that he was taller than Nick despite their age difference. But it wasn't just Nick. Apparently, comparing other foxes, none was as tall as him. But he was a pure fox nonetheless even with this strange characteristics. Yet, deep down, he felt like he was more than just a fox.

Eventually, he shrugged it off and began to take a shower. However, just by being under the warm water, brought him to his other thoughts. His real family. He finally has a lead to where he came from. Maybe that was why they left him to begin with. Because he was strange? No, of course not. He was a natural baby tod. There was no way they would have known he grew up to stand out than the rest of the pack. But then again…

After the shower, Max walked back up to the living room and saw Sophie laying on the couch, hugging the cushion while staring thoughtlessly at the television. She was staring, not watching it even though it was playing a game show. The kind where contestants would have to answer some questions and win money.

He took a few steps toward his girlfriend silently and watched the show. He noticed that she wasn't moving either which could only mean she wasn't paying attention at all.

"Bored?" he said suddenly which caused her to fall off the couch from the shock.

She looked up to find him in a black t-shirt and tanned shorts. "D-d-d-don't scare me like that!" she stuttered, patting her chest to ease her heart. "I thought you weren't coming back. What took you so long?"

He shrugged. "I was thinking a lot is all."

She then realized that he was still wearing his gloves. "Hey, take them off now," she demanded, point at them.

"You do realize what these mean to me, right? And besides, I can take them off once I go to sleep."

"I know that. But since today is special, I want you to not wear them until tomorrow. Besides…" She looked away blushing. "It wouldn't be nice if I don't hold your paw properly…"

Max stared at her while thinking on what to say next. "So what you're saying is you want to hold my naked paw?" he said.

Hearing him said that made her face flushed. And it wasn't the question that was affecting her. It was the word 'naked' that caught her by surprise. "Y-yea…" she answered shyly.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. "Fine," he said, lowering his head to face her. And just as he promised, he took off his gloves and tossed them on the counter at the kitchen.

And in an instant, his wrists were grabbed by her. He looked at her as she began inspecting his claws. "Hm? Are they ever this sharp?" she asked. Even she noticed it too. She poked the tip on one of them and pulled back quickly in reflex. It was definitely much sharper than before.

"See now why I put on the gloves?" he said.

She smiled and placed his paw on her cheek which put him at ease. "Doesn't matter…" she said, eyes closed as she enjoyed the touch of his soft paw on her cheek. "Even if you hurt me on purpose, I won't ever run away… Not anymore…"

He looked at her warily. He was so lucky to have her. He never thought about having anyone to love. Not to mention, he was asexual. But she was the only one that could get through to him. Which shows how special she was to him.

He then moved his other free paw to her other cheek. This caught her by surprised as she looked up at him. The two stared at each other in the eyes for a while. Max responded by tilting his head a bit as if he was looking at something interesting for the first time.

"M-Max…?" she said softly, her ears losing the strength to stay firm as she gaze in his eyes while enjoying the feeling of both his paws on her cheek.

She was so beautiful to him. He had known her since 10 years ago. And she has not changed the slightest. She was kind, considerate and also playful all at the same time just as she was when they were kits. But as for him… He has changed a lot after their separation.

"Hey, Sophie…" he called.

She blushed. Normally it'd just be 'Soph', but hearing him calling her name properly can make her feel a little embarrassed. "Y-yes…?" she said as bravely as she could with a smile.

"You wanna have kits?"

And just after he asked that, the fireworks began as she stood there frozen in her spot while looking at him with her unmoved smile. She stared at him blankly and blinked a couple of times. "What?" she asked, making sure she didn't mishear that with still that smile on her face and eyes in disbelief.

"Do you wanna have kits? With me?"

A few seconds later, her feet sprang her whole body onto the couch, front facing as she covered the back of her head with a cushion. " _EEEEEEHHHHHH?!_ " was all she thought as she pinned her head with the cushion strongly. At this point, she has forgotten all about watching the fireworks with him already.

Her blush was so furios, the fur of her head to ears were turning red and steam could be seen coming out from her. " _D-D-D-DID HE JUST ASK ME WHAT I THINK HE ASK?! DID I MISHEAR THAT?! DID I?! NO WAY! I DEFINITELY DIDN'T! HE ACTUALLY ASKED ME THAT?! HE DID! AAAAAHHHH! WHAT SHOULD I DO?! WHAT DO I SAY TO HIM?! UUUUGGGGHHHH! WHY IS HE SO STRAIGHTFORWARD?!_ "

She was squirming rather uncomfortably on the couch, pitching the cushion like a tent on her head as hard as she can. She didn't know how to respond to that question. And what's more, they aren't even married.

"It's okay if you don't," Max continued after he witnessed her reaction. "I know it was a little too direct but…"

"Yes…" Sophie cut in.

"Hm?" He turned to her.

Sophie slowly raised her body up and cleared her throat. "I said… Yes…" she answered. Silence at first but then her body went limp again as she looked down with a panicked look. " _WAS THAT AWKWARD?! WAS IT?! OH NO… HE'S STAYING QUIET… IT WAS DEFINITELY AWKWARD!_ "

"By the way, I think we missed the fireworks," Max said.

Sophie's ears immediately stood up immediately as she looked out the window. "Ah!" she yelled. "No! I forgot!" As she was getting worked up in this situation, Max placed a paw on her shoulder which made her jump a bit.

"Relax. At least it's still going on."

She looked out and he was right. The fireworks were still on but they missed a few of them. She sighed. "Yea… It's a shame that we missed the first few…"

"If only I didn't ask."

Her body began to tremble. She placed her paws on her cheek in embarrassment. She wanted so much to yell at him for asking her that question. Out of all the things he has asked, that one was by far the most effective for the jill. And to make matters worse, she was beginning to remember that one night when they were sleeping together.

From the kiss… To the embrace… And then…

" _AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!_ " she was screaming so loud in her mind that she can't hear anything in reality anymore. Her lips were even shaking with her mouth hanging open. The image of that night together with him in bed never went away. Not to mention, she remembered the size and feeling of his… penile organ… She placed her paws on her face to cover it up but it was so red that the redness itself managed to be seen through her paws. She swallowed her embarrassment but the thought of the night before was still present.

Max could feel her body shake and let her go. He placed his paw on her head which eventually calmed her down. Her head was definitely warmer than before. But he knew why. Because of his straightforwardness, she was acting like this. He was never once afraid to ask questions nor answer them. To him, dignity was nothing more than an act whenever he is with someone that was close.

"We don't actually have to do it now," he said. "It was just a question."

She shut her mouth and gulped again, staying silent with her eyes closed. "I… Don't actually mind if we do it now even…" she said, turning around slowly to face him.

He looked at her and blinked once, before stroking her head. "There's… A reason why I asked…"

She looked at him curiously. "That is…?"

He let her go and rubbed the back of his head. "I was planning to meet my real family… And… I thought that maybe… Before I do, I feel like… We should start our own…"

Her ears dropped as she looked up at him.

She remembered about what he said the night on last Christmas. About how Nick managed to find out about his past. Well, it COULD just be a hint. But it was a strong lead to where the young fox might learn where he came from.

Her lips slowly formed into a smile and then eventually a giggle broke free. "You're such a dummy," she said, poking his nose. "Honestly… That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. From you even."

He looked down with his face pouted. "It was just a thought…" he said, trying to not admit that she was right.

But his face was clear enough to tell her. She smiled and held his paws, rubbing them with her thumb. "Then… Do you… Wanna do it tonight…?" she asked, trying to be a little brave.

He looked at her and gulped. This was the first time he's ever been so embarrassed. It was rather unbelievable considering how he turned from very direct to a shy fox. "S-sure…" he stuttered.

Sophie's ears stood up in joy and she gave him a bright smile. And then, she noticed something. "Hey… You've… Gotten a little taller lately…"

"Have I?" He actually knew but decided to play a little.

"Well… Your height back then… It should be the same as my ears but…"

Hearing that, he also realized it. He knew he got taller but he never realized he would be THAT tall already. He was almost as tall as an adult wolf. Which was strange because this was not a normal size for an adult fox.

"Ah well… The bigger, the better~"

"Wait, what?"

Before he could say anything else, she pulled him by the arm to their room already.

 **One week later…**

A week past after the new year and Max was already beginning to pack his stuff. He was ready to set off to Vulper Island. The place where Nick mentioned in the note. This was the first time Max had to travel somewhere outside Zootopia for a while now. He was hoping for the best. Hoping that he wouldn't stand out too much than the mammals there.

And as he was deep in thoughts, he felt a couple of taps on his shoulder and turned around to meet Sophie who was smiling.

That smile could only mean one thing… "I'm pregnant…" she announced showing him the positive sign on the pregnancy test.

Max sighed and smiled back. "Guess it's my turn to keep my end of the bargain…" he said. He opened the drawer, taking out a black box before facing her. "Don't expect me to kneel or anything…" he complained. He took a deep breath and let it out before opening the fox, containing a diamond ring inside. "Sopheria Kimberly Glace… Will you marry me…?" he finally asked.

And without needing to think, she hugged him. "Yes…" she said softly with the most beautiful smile he has ever seen.

The night after their… Sexual activity… They made a promise that if Sophie ever got pregnant, Max will have to propose to her. However, because of how many rounds they went, a positive is very much predictable. They weren't sure if a prey and predator would be possible but on that day, they discovered it was. Unfortunately, their wedding will be decided once he comes home was what he said. Of course, after hearing this, Max bought the engagement ring before he was preparing to leave. He had already planned to meet his real family alone. The reason was because he was worried that something bad might happen. At first, Sophie was hesitant but for once, she listened to him and decided to wait as she did 10 years ago.

The two already said their farewells at the airport when he was about to leave. Max had his own personal flight schedule since a friend of his was willing to fly him to Vulper Island. It was Rio, the leopard. The same one that brought him back to Zootopia after he was done with the dates he owed around the world. Max was thinking that it was better not to waste time so he didn't want to book a normal flight especially in this kind of moment.

And just when he was about to take off, he looked out the window and waved at his girlfriend who waved back. But he doubt she even noticed him waving since they were already getting further.

"So what's the occasion this time?" Rio, the pilot, asked.

"I got a lead on my real family," he answered, resting his chin on his knuckles.

"Whoa ho! Seriously? That's great."

"Yea, well… I need to meet them myself… To see if it's legit. If it weren't then I'd only be wasting Sophie's time."

Rio glanced at his friend who was at the back looking out the window. "There's another reason, isn't it?"

Max stayed quiet for a while and sighed before answering. "Yea… Truth is… Nick said that my blood was different. The only match they found was this vixen named Marilyn Fanger. The fact that out of all mammals and this, Marilyn, was the only match makes me curious. Maybe she might be the same as me."

Rio looked back for a few seconds and stretched his lips to the side. "Now that you mention it, have you gotten bigger the last time I saw you?"

Max chuckled. "Sophie said the same thing. Even I noticed it. That made me wonder… Is my blood the cause of it? That's why I need to know alone."

Rio laughed. "Well, I'm just your pilot as usual. So don't drag me into any shit that will get me in trouble. I WILL listen to your stories though."

It was more than a 6-hour flight to Vulper Island. Max fell asleep during the trip and was eventually woken up by Rio as usual. And as he was about to pay, Rio said that this flight was on the house since it's a special moment for him. Of course, the next flight back to Zootopia won't be free he said.

The plane landed in a hanger that was located around a forest with tall wired fences surrounding it. The leaves of the palm trees can be seen dancing with each plane taking off, including the jet that Max was in earlier.

He thanked Rio for the free ride and left the hanger with a chocolate in his mouth. And the first thing he did was went to the local police station for some information. He asked if there was a vixen named Marilyn Fanger. And to his surprise, the police officer said that the Fangers were quite famous on the island. So, he aquired the address to the Fangers resident. What he did not expect was that they lived so far from where he was at now. However, everybody in on Vulper Island knew who the Fangers were.

The island was like an ordinary island except it was modern like Hawaii. Only this island was not small nor large enough to not just have the forest around every corner of it, but it was at least enough to have crops as well. It was like a combination of the southern side of the world and having jungles as well. Kind of like Zootopia and its multi-atmosphere only this one can't compare to it.

Most of the island was green with grass not trees like the countryside. There were cropfields everywhere as if farms were a usual thing here. Bulls were even ploughing the land under the sun and many young mammals were playing outside. You don't see that many kids outside anymore these days. It looked like this place wasn't THAT modern since every house had windmills as power sources. As for water, it can be found easily in the forest where lakes were still fresh.

Max looked around everywhere. It was very surreal to him since he has never seen a forest and countryside combined before. The rainforest and downtown in Zootopia were quite different because the large walls there separates the environment from colliding each other. But Vulper Island was literally the merge of forest and countryside and it looked rather unbelievable.

This was what Max thought during his journey to his destination by cab. Scarecrows, orchard and windmills. He has never seen those so often since most of time he is in city-type areas. Which brought him to the thought of his senior's girlfriend, Judy Hopps. Wasn't she a farmgirl before? He was thinking of asking her some tips if he ever comes back here. He was actually expecting himself to do farm work eventually.

As his thoughts kept running through his mind, he reached his destination in no time at all. And what he saw was a Second Empire Victorian house about two and a half story tall on top of a hill. Stairs were placed in a zig zag way up to the resident and Max can't quite shake this eerie feeling he was having, even though he wasn't showing it.

He thanked the driver and paid him for the ride before getting off. He looked at the house again. It looked as if something out of the classic horror movie, Psycho. He walked up the stairs towards the front door and stopped there for a moment.

He sighed. "Here goes nothing…" he said, hoping for the best. He pushed the button to the doorbell which emitted a spine-tingling ring. So spine-tingling that the fur on his tail can be seen standing up but his face said otherwise.

He waited for an answer and he could hear footsteps coming closer to the door. His tail moved left and right, trying to calm down before whoever it is answered the door.

With the sound of the doorknob clicking, the door swung open moving to the inside. But… The owner was an unexpected animal. It was… A honey badger…

She was wearing a short tank top and torn shorts with a lollipop in her mouth. And… She was abnormally larger than a regular adult badger. About almost half his height.

"Yes? Can I help you?" said the badger in a southern accent, sucking on her lollipop.

Max blinked a couple of times before giving a slight bow. "Is this the Fangers…?" he asked as emotionless as he can be. He didn't want to her to realize he was thinking for a short second.

"What if it ain't?" she said, placing her paw on the jamb of the door.

"Just answer the question, ma'am," Max said.

Her fur stood up as she switch the lollipop to the other side of her cheek and raised an eyebrow.

And as she did, Max noticed something. She had fangs sticking out from both sides. Just like him. There was no way a badger could have that kind of dental issue.

"Ma! Pa! Someone's lookin' for ya'll!" she yelled to the living room.

And then, a couple of mammals showed up. And it was definitely NOT what the fox was expecting at all. One was a bengel tiger who is the male and the other is a black wolf. The wolf was unusually larger than a normal adult wolf but the tiger was just the perfect size. However, both of them shared similar appearance. Fangs, only bigger than Max's and the claws so terrifyingly long it looked fit to be one of those horror flicks.

"Who are you, stranger?" the female wolf ask which sounded more like a city-kind accent.

"You a cop…?" the tiger growled, glaring at him.

However, Max wasn't intimidated considering he was prepared to face anything already. He shook his head and bowed to the two.

"I'm Max Zero," he began. "I'm from Zootopia. I'm looking for Marilyn Fanger?"

The tiger's ears perked up and he stepped forward. "Where did you hear that name…?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" Max asked back.

"Of course it matters, fucker!" he yelled with a roar which shook the whole house.

The black wolf walked towards him. "Honey, calm down," she said placing her paws on his chest. "Let's hear him out first."

The tiger snarled and backed away, clearing his throat. "Fine then…" he said in an annoyed tone. "So? What's the story, boy?"

"It's nothing. From what I know, she's related to me. Blood related. So I want to find her."

The tiger took another step but slower this time. "Blood related…?" he repeated. "As in… You could think she's your mother…?"

"I don't know. That's why I need to find her."

The wolf and tiger looked at each other and then back to the fox.

"Sarah, honey. Lift that fox's shirt up from behind." The tiger ordered.

Before Max could even respond, the female honey badger, known as Sarah, stepped behind Max so quickly and then lift his shirt like she was told.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

And her reaction, was the look of surprise. She looked at the two predators. "He's got the mark…" she said, pulling out her lollipop to speak properly.

The tiger then, grabbed Max's arm and checked himself. On Max's back in the center, there was a burn mark in the shape of an F in a unique way. After confirming that, he let go of Max. "Theodore!" he exclaimed and hugged Max.

"Th-Theodore?!" Max responded.

The tiger let him go and face the ceiling. "Angel!" he called, cupping his mouth. "Your little brother is back!"

And the ceiling began to shook with the footsteps above it. And on the top floor at the stairs, a vixen stood there and looked at Max. She stared at him for a while before making her way down the stairs slowly.

"T-Teddy…?" she said softly. As she stepped out of the shadow, the tod could see her clearly now.

She was a vixen with two black stroke of lines on her muzzle. Her eyes were brown just like his. She was slightly taller than him and he notice just like his paws and feet, those areas were black just like him. However, all the bright color fur part that he has from his mouth to lower body and the tip of his tail, they were replaced with black instead for her.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed her nose was twitching and it was then he realized she was sniffing, around every angle. Yes. EVERY SINGLE PART OF HIS BODY.

Max frowned but his face flushed since she was so close to him.

Her eyes widened along with a gasp. "It… Really is you…" she said, putting her paws on his cheek. "Oh, Teddy!" She then pulled him into a hug and begins swaying her body in happiness.

His sister… He never knew he had one…

"Eh…" Max responded looking at his back in the mirror with his shirt lifted up. They were right about the F burn mark. "I never notice that…"

"Not even while taking a bath?" said the tiger sitting on the couch, observing the fox checking his back.

"Not at all. I usually wash my back with a brush so I absolutely did not notice it."

The whole group was sitting in the dining hall as Max was still looking attentively at his back in the mirror.

"Well, we can't blame you," said the black wolf, bringing some tea. "After all, with all those scars, I doubt you'd notice them."

Max froze for a second. They noticed his scar… He was beginning to panic to try to explain how he got them. What will they think if they realize he was a criminal back in the days.

"Amen to that," the tiger laughed.

Max turned his head swiftly at them. " _Huh…?_ " he thought. He was really expecting them to react differently. Did they not care about how he got them? He shrugged it off and walked next to his elder sister.

"But…" She patted his head. "I never actually thought that you'll return… Thank God…"

The tiger laughed along with the vixen and then his eyes focused on Max's gloves. "What are those?" he asked.

Max lifted his paws up. "These?" he said, showing. "They're leather gloves. Croc skins. These mean a lot to me."

"Why?"

"Let's just say I'm not good at using my claws."

"Oh come now, Theodore." The tiger lifted his paws up and drew his own claws. "Look at mine. Sharp as a shaving blade. One wrong cut, and the skin will be peeled off. But, it's all about control." His claws sinked back underneath the fur of his paws.

However, if only he knew. Unlike him, Max's claws has grew so long that he can't retract them anymore. And just recently, they grew again. He even has a hard time wiping his ass whenever he takes a dump.

"You see these fangs, Theodore?" the tiger said, pointing his own on his gum. "Only true Fangers have these. Truly a fitting name for our family, right? If you have these, then you shouldn't be afraid of us."

He looked at him. "Theodore…?" he asked. "That's my real name?"

"Yes," the tiger answered. "Your real name is Theodore Soterios Fanger. I'm Ezekiel. Ezekial Lucas Fanger. And of course, your sister, Angel. Angel Sibyl Fanger."

"So… Angel and I are adopted?"

The tiger, Ezekiel, laughed. "No, no," he said.

"He's our daddy," Angel answered.

Max's head turned swiftly again. "Our… Daddy…?" he repeated. Then he looked at the black wolf and the honey badger. "What about them?"

"Oh, Michelle? She's my wife. But she's your stepmom. And that honey badger is Sarah. Her daughter. Otherwise, your step sister. Michelle was a widow so, you should know the story…"

Max blinked a few times. "Then… What about Marilyn Fanger…?" he asked.

The room went into silence. "Marilyn… Is… No… WAS, your mother…" Ezekiel said, placing his foreheads on his paws. "She disappeared one night with you… And we never found her… Nor you… Even now, I don't know where she is…"

"For all we know…" Angel was about to say something then stopped. Another moment of silence.

Max noticed this and was about to say something until she cut him off.

She quickly brought her head back up. "But on the bright side, I have my little brother back!" she said, giving him another hug.

"Alright, alright," Michelle said, bringing a pot of curry. "Since a surprising family member just returned, I thought I'd make my famous curry."

Everyone was ready to dig in but Max then rubbed his forehead.

"What's wrong, Theodore?" Ezekiel asked. "Don't like curry?"

Max shook his head. "No… Just… Feeling a little jetlagged is all… I came here immediately after getting off the plane…"

"I'll help you!" Angel quickly stood up after putting her plate down. "I'll show you to your room."

Max nodded and bowed to the others. "Please excuse me…"

"Take your time, son. You deserve it."

Max picked up his backpack and followed his sister upstairs.

The house was two story and a half. The were four rooms on the ground floor. The living room on the right when entering the house and library on the left. And passing the stairs were two more rooms that were also connected to the library and living room. The dining hall and kitchen was located right next to the living room while the laundry room was next to the library. However, unlike the three rooms, the laundry room had walls around it which can only be entered through the door instead of having no walls. The stairs are the first thing to see on the right when entering the house and it leads to three bedrooms which are located on the left above the library and laundry room. And the bathroom on the right above the dining hall, in front of the furthest room.

"You can sleep in my room," Angel said heading to the furthest room at the back, then opening the door.

"Will you be sleeping with Sarah?"

Angel giggled. "No…" She placed her paw on her head. "I wouldn't want to leave my little brother's side anymore. Don't worry though. I'll sleep on the floor since you're our guest for today."

She motioned him to enter and he did. He looked around. It was nothing like a city-style bedroom. It was quite bright with exquisite-looking wallpaper. There was a dressing table at the corner of the room and the bedding was a simple single bed with white sheets. A white cabinet right was next to Max from where he is standing.

He looked around. "Looks tidy," he commented.

And as he said that, he heard her sniff his neck which made him jumped back a little. She smiled. "But YOU smell. Go take a bath first."

He blinked. "After I'm done napping…" he said, putting his backpack beside the bedding. He lay down on the bed, his chin resting on the pillow as he began dozing off.

Angel smiled and turned off the lights. "Welcome home, Teddy…" she said softly closing the door, leaving him to rest.

More than couple of hours has past and it was already getting dark out. Max woke up and the first thing he noticed outside the window was the orange sky.

He scratched the back of his head and yawned. "God… I hope I didn't sleep too long…" He stood up and stretched his arms and legs, releasing a longer yawn this time.

And the first thing he did was go for his backpack to grab some chocolate that he brought along. But as soon as he was about unwrap it… He clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Of course it melted…" He went down the stairs to the kitchen and decided to put it in the freezer to cool it. And as he opened it, he found out that the freezer was filled with meatbags inside. His ears dropped and frowned.

"Why are they so much meat…?" he said to himself. He shook his head and decided to leave his chocolate there. He walked to the living room.

"Ezekiel? Michelle?" he called. But no one answered. He walked out of the house. No sign of them. He sighed and decided to head back in. And as he was about to, something caught his attention. A putrid smell was entering his nostrils and he quickly covered it.

He gave it a little sniff and followed it to see where it came from. The smell was leading at the back of the house. He followed it slowly and he could hear some squishy noises being made too. And what he saw… Was something he could never forget…

His stepsister, Sarah, the honey badger… Was eating a bull… Raw… From its corpse with blood still fresh…

Sarah turned around and looked at her stepbrother with a blank expression as she kept chewing.

"S-Sarah…" Max said. And for the first time in 10 years, Max finally felt fear. But this… Was a different kind of fear.

And before he knew it, we was pacified with a heavy blow on the back of his head…

What awaits him now… It's not just a new year… But it truly is a new beginning… And an experience that he will never forget even if he wants to…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

 _Whatever it is that left you behind, it could be even more tragic than before you can even remember it. Don't try to expect it. Instead, face it with whatever it is you feel and overcome it._

* * *

 **Next chapter:** **(Beast Within)** _After discovering something horrifying, Max was told the truth behind his family's creed. And because of that, he understood now why his mother left this family. Probably… What will become of his future now?_

* * *

 **A/N:** _And now you all know why I never wanted to publish this long ago. I hope it doesn't gross you out. It's meant to be a horror after all. This is the first time I've written a chapter with 14 pages. I really put a lot of heart into this._

 _And I'm sure a lot of you wanted to read that sex scene of Max and Sophie. But… Sorry… That kind of things makes me feel a little uncomfortable… But I tried to summarized it as much as I can… So… Forgive me if you feel unsatisfied._

 _So I'll make sure to entertain you all next chapter. And feel free to leave description of your OC ideas. I'd like to have them in my stories. I'll give credits too. This is OUR story after all._


	2. Beast Within

**A/N:** _The result for this story is as I expected since no one cares about OC stories anymore. However, I WILL finish this story and will get all 26 chapters done despite the views. But hey, shit happens right?_

 **Disclaimer:** _Zootopia belongs to Disney but the characters are mine. There is one that belongs to someone. Will leave credit at the bottom._

 **Last chapter** **(An Unexpected Reunion):** _Max is about to become a father and decides to take off to meet his real family. However, he discovered something gruesome on that day and is now about to set off in a new life. Will he accept it?_

* * *

The young fox, known as Max Zero, but recently discovered his true name, Theodore Fanger, was left unconscious on the ground. His vision was a blur but he could feel his body being carried to somewhere. He wasn't completely conscious so he was too weak to even realize where he was being taken to. And it took a few minutes but he was still unaware of the situation he was at.

He could barely hear someone speaking but just enough to hear them but just not understood them. It took a few more minutes to finally get his mind together.

"…What a troublesome tod…" was the first thing he heard.

He slowly opened his eyes. He could see the ceiling. And as soon as his senses were back, he sat up straight, turning to the right to find his blood-related father.

"Oh, you're awake," said Ezekiel.

Max looked around to find himself in a small closed room with nothing but the lamp dangling on the ceiling to cover the darkness. He was sitting on a table and rubbed his head in pain.

"Welcome to our basement," Ezekiel said. "Sorry about hitting you hard back there. I just wanted to explain a few things before it gets out of hand."

The fox turned to the tiger. "Wh… What…?" he barely said, still wary.

"Well… It's time you know our family tradition," he started. "The Fangers are TRUE predators. And I'm sure you saw Sarah back there. You were pretty shocked weren't you?"

Max couldn't answer. He tried to catch his breath for a while. And with him not realizing, this was the first time he has felt so lost.

"Unlike the other predators, WE are the ones who are true to our traditions. You don't have to be related by blood to be a Fanger even. The only initiation is to act like a true predator. Our family has been hunting thousands of years even after the peace between the two families. But of course, they've forgotten. What it feels like to be a predator."

Again… Max could only stare. But he was also listening. This tiger was crazy.

"Anyhoo…" Ezekiel stood up. "I have work to do. If you want to know more, just ask anyone here." The old tiger exited out the room, leaving his son there.

Max then looked down on the ground, still shaking. He just did not expect his family to be… Carnivores. Sure, they are. But as in, eating preys. He rubbed his head, trying to think on what to do next. And as he was, he heard a scream in the next room where his blood-related father exited. "Help" it sounded.

He slowly took a step forward to the door and opened it slightly to peek and the first thing he saw was a deer being tied down on a surface. He was naked and shaking in fear with gritted teeth while struggling to get loose.

Max quickly exited the room and rushed towards the victim. "What happened?!" he asked.

The deer yelled. "S-Stay away! You monster!"

Max was unsure of what to do but the only thing he could think of now was to set the victim free. "Just stay still! I'm getting you out!"

"Why would you! You're a Hunter right?!"

Max ignored the question and tried to get the deer lose until…

"Theodore…" a female voice was heard behind him.

He turned around to meet his stepmother, Michelle who was wielding a saw.

"What are you doing?" she asked as politely as she can.

"What are YOU doing?!" he asked back. "What is this?! What's going on here! Explain!"

"I'm for sure your father already explained everything. Fangers… Are true predators. Our tradition has never changed to begin with. This should be normal for you."

"How the fuck is this normal?! Feasting on preys?!"

The wolf giggled. "Do you not know what prey means? It means 'victims'. Why would they still be sticking with that name while the meaning is already gone? It's the same for our family name. Why do all us Fangers even have fangs right? Same as predators which meant 'hunters'."

"You're fucking crazy!"

"Actually, we're not. If you ever tasted red meat, you would understand. But you never have, have you?"

And she was right. For the first time in 10 years, Max choked on his on words. He can't say anything about that since she was right. He never has never tasted it.

"Don't tell me you forgot what it taste like," she continued.

His eyes widened. 'Forgot'? He looked up at her in confusion.

"Your father didn't tell you, did you? When you were a baby, that was the one thing they fed you."

The 'one thing' she said. Which brought him to thinking. Was it the reason why he was so savage? Not because it was an unconscious act of protection but rather… Hunger?

"Deep down… You've been wanting to taste it again, don't you…?" she said softly, walking towards the deer. "Then, I will be preparing dinner soon. Care to watch?"

"You fucking pieces of shit!" yelled the prey. "All of you! Go fuck yourself!"

Ignoring his threat, the wolf, Michelle then injected him with something. "Shhhh," she said. "Just relax those muscle. Wouldn't want you to struggle."

"W-wha… What… Did you… Do…?" Without saying anything else, the prey was unable to move. Not even his mouth. The only part of his body that was still moving were his eyesballs. Saliva began to form from his tongue that was hanging out. He was really out of it, yet he was aware of where he was.

Max could only look in fear. But at the same time, he felt anger. He wanted to save the deer. He wanted to do something. He began clenching his fist. His mind began clouding with dark thoughts. He was about to take a step forward until…

"Theodore," Ezekiel called from behind. Of course, his son turned to him. "Would you like to help with dinner too?" he smiled.

The young fox stared at him with widened eyes. That smile… It looked so innocent. As if he really thought it was the right thing. Max shook his head slowly with gritted teeth, while trying to say something, until… He heard some squishy noises behind and the smell of blood came to play.

He turned around and witnessed his stepmother began sawing off the feet of the deer. And the victim was still conscious too but wasn't struggling.

Max began to shake. He has never been so frightened in his life. He covered his mouth, holding in his vomit, and looked away.

Ezekiel laughed. "You'll get use to it," he said. "Go out and throw up in the garden. It'd make good fertilizers for the plants."

And so, he ran up the stairs and out of the basement. The only thing revealed itself when he opened the door was the sky which was getting dark. The sky was turning into a dark orange.

He was now at the same spot where he found Sarah who was eating the bull carcass just now. And the the carcass was still there only, now the innards were widely open and bones can be seen already.

The sight of it only made Max sicker and let it all go as he vomitted right next to it. He could feel his head getting light and his stomach emptying itself. The smell of the carcass was still there even and it only made him want to puke some more even though there was nothing left to vomit.

Max held his stomach after finally getting over it. But due to an empty stomach, he was getting a little weak. This was such a change of character for him. He can't even remember the last time he's ever threw up. He has killed other mammals before… But never to the extend to eat them.

Then again… He once did tasted blood… Back when… He was protecting Sophie…

Sophie…

Her face flashed in his mind and he grabbed his head. He was becoming more lost than ever. What should he do now? He was even about to become a father and marry her even. But now… He has complications with his real family. What would they think if they found out that he was about to be married to a prey…?

"Teddy?" Angel called, placing a paw on his shoulder.

He shook then flicked her paw away from him, becoming a little more cautious. He didn't answer her. He just stared at her in disdain.

"You should go take a shower," she said. "I'm sorry about what Daddy did." She then grabbed his paw. "But I promise you. I won't let anyone hurt you. I… Can't lose you again…"

Max's breathing began to calm as he looked at her. She seems to care about him. Which he can't hate. Her eyes look too honest about it and he sighed. These were right now the most fucked up mammals he has ever met. And he has to be cautious. But, for some reason, he could trust his older sister.

"Okay…" he said, finally calming down.

He glanced back for a few seconds and frowned in disgust.

Angel looked back and pushed him softly. "Just go, okay?" she assured, smiling.

Few minutes after, Max was in the shower but wasn't bathing. He was too busy thinking about a lot. He can't even hear the shower running due to what is going on in his head now. He breathed slowly every 5 seconds, just trying to clear the image that was captured in his head but they just can't seem to go away.

He frowned and rubbed his head. " _What the fuck…?_ " he thought. " _Why didn't I just run away…? Is it because I've seen other mammals die before too…? No… This is different… Or… Is it because…?_ "

"Teddy?" Angel's voice can be heard behind the other side of the door.

"Yea?" Max answered.

"Can I… Come in…?"

"Are you crazy?" Max grabbed the curtain showers quickly just in case.

He could hear her giggle outside. "Don't get any wrong ideas, silly. I'm just gonna leave some new clothes for you on the sink."

He let go of the curtains. "Sure… Just leave them then."

Max could barely see anything behind the curtains. But he could see the door opening and a figure entered the washroom, leaving a batch of clothes on the sink.

He sighed and looked down again, thinking once more. He heard the door closed and he turned to it. But… The figure was still in the bathroom. Moving.

He stared at it. It looked like it was… Stripping.

"Angel?" he called.

"Huh?! Oh! Sorry!" And with that, the figure exited the washroom quickly.

He sighed again only longer this time. He moved the curtain a little to peek to see if it was clear. And then locked the door this time. Something was definitely wrong… With her…

He turned to the set of clothes Angel left behind on the sink and tilted his head. Red, black and white flannel… And a pair of blue jeans… And of course, there was a pair of underpants… Only they were briefs instead of boxers this time.

The fox turned off the shower and begin wearing the clothes that his sister brought. He put them on very slowly, buttoning the shirt from top to bottom and looked at himself in the mirror while doing so.

He stared blankly at his reflection while putting on his clothes as if he was mindlessly doing so especially with an expression like that. And after dressing up, he looked at himself only with a longer stare. He looked different. He feels different even. Who would have thought that he would see himself wearing these kind of clothes.

He released a breath of exhaustion and went for his gloves that he had left in the medical cabinet which was also the mirror. After putting it on, he looked at his paws and moved them in and out making sure they fit.

He looked up in the mirror one last time before heading out.

And as soon as he exited, he could hear some voices in the kitchen. He heard two familiar voices, one belonged to Ezekiel and the other was Angel's. However, there was a third which he's never heard before.

"I just hope he can accept this family," said the third voice. It was a male. "What do you think the mammals that raised him are like?"

"I can only hope they aren't preys," Ezekiel said. They have not noticed that he was already out of the washroom. "I don't mind if they raised him softly but as long as they're predators, I can accept that."

"They're both predators," Max answered, barging in.

"Oh, Theodore!" Ezekiel said in surprised with folded arms. "Sorry that you heard that. But, glad to hear the ones that raised you are predators. We should invite them to the family too."

"They're gone," the young tod replied instantly and coldly. "Dead. They were caught in an accident when I was out of town."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," said the third party member. He was a black timberwolf and was a really big one too. Bigger than Max even who was as large as a regular adult wolf. "Oh, where are my manners? Thomas Cansus. I'm your stepmother's brother. But, I'm a true Fanger as well. Don't let the last name fool you." The wolf brought out his paw to shake.

Max, of course, shook back.

Thomas noticed this and looked at the fox's paw. "Gloves? Why are you wearing them?"

"Does it matter?"

"He just finds them precious," Angel interrupted, helping to clean Max's rudeness. "Teddy said someone important gave that to him is all."

"Ah, I see. Are they predators?"

Max didn't answer but frowned. Predator, predator, predator. Was that the only thing that mattered to this family? The fox answered back with a slow nod and the wolf let go.

"Well, in that case, I don't mind. And god, look at you." The wolf bent his knees a little to reach his height. "I remember how tiny you were. But to think a fox could grow this huge." Thomas laughed which annoyed Max a little. "Well, hopefully you can keep up with the family tradition."

"Dinner is ready," Michelle called bringing in something that smell delicious. Everyone, except Sarah gathered around the table.

Max noticed this and turned to Angel. "Where's the badger?" he asked.

"Sarah? She said she's full."

His ears twitched and he frowned again. The image of Sarah eating the bull earlier returned to his head. He looked down, hoping not to vomit. And that was when he remembered something. He looked at the meal that Michelle brought.

It was a set of deer parts, including the head. All roasted and it was still steaming. The fur, the eyeballs, the tongue and all the inner organs gone. The only part left were all the meat stuck to the bone, all chopped in pieces.

"Since Theodore has returned, I was thinking we should eat this one that Ezekiel just hunted," Michelle explained, smiling at her handiwork.

"Why, of course, we should!" Ezekiel exclaimed. "The homecoming of the most precious family member is finally here after all!"

"You really know how to make a feast, sis," Thomas said, grabbing for the wrist only to be smacked by his sister on the paw.

"Now, now. We should say grace before we eat. God bless for this wonderful day after all."

Max was speechless. He really wanted to do something. But he was frozen stiff. He was about to eat the deer that he just saw earlier as if it was nothing. He really couldn't think straight anymore. For some reason, part of him just wants to get along with the family. But another part was screaming that they were all sick. Sick in the head.

"Teddy?" Angel called, noticing his expression. "Are you okay?"

 _Are you okay_ , she said… Max clenched his paws tightly into a fist and quickly ran up the stairs to his room.

He could hear his real name being called by them, but he decided to block them all out. He was Max Zero. A fox who is about to get married. Not Theodore Fanger. A… 'True' predator.

The moment he entered his room, he began packing all his stuff. He wanted to leave this place as soon as he can and forget about everything. This was not what he was expecting his family to be. But yet… Somehow, he just can't do anything.

He could have go and tell the police about this. But why didn't he…?

Max was on his knees, his bag still opened but he wasn't moving. He was staring at the inside of his bag but what he was seeing was something else. He couldn't see it clearly, but it was all red… Red… His mind then brought him back 10 years ago from when he almost killed those bullies that were hurting Sophie. His paws began trembling as he gripped onto his bag.

He remembered something from back then… He… WANTED to kill them… But he wasn't sure it was because it was to protect Sophie or because it was something else. Almost as if his own body wanted to do it. Which would explain why he had no problem killing others during his days as a criminal.

"Teddy?" Angel's voice was heard by the door.

Max turned around quickly and found her walking towards him. "What do you want…?" he answered weakly.

"I… Just wanted to check on you…" She kneeled next to him and looked inside his bag. She saw something that caught her eye and reached in for it. It was Max's old mask from his old crime days. "Whoa…" She raised the muzzle-shaped black mask up and observed it in different angles. "This actually would look good on you."

Max didn't have the mood to talk anymore. So he decided to let her continue while still staring inside his bag blankly.

"You know… Masks are important to us whenever we hunt. I guess you really do have it in you after all."

The tod's eyes widened and he swiftly grabbed his mask bag. "No…" he said, sounding agitated. "I'm not like you… I'm different…"

Angel smiled. "I know you are," she said. "But I also know that part of you is still like us."

"How do you know…?"

"Those scars… Did you get them while trying to kill someone?"

He didn't answer but looked at his mask.

"So you HAVE killed before. But then again, killing and preying are two different things."

There was a moment of silence between them. Max can't help but shake. He finally looked at his sister. "What does it matter to you…?" he asked.

"It doesn't." She placed a paw on his head. "But YOU do. No matter who you are, you're always my brother… You have no idea… How lonely I was when you were gone…" Tears began forming from her eyes which softened the tod. "I… I really hated being alone… After you and mommy were gone… I never felt so…" She couldn't continue saying anymore.

Max could tell she was telling the truth. And it was then he placed a paw on her head too. "I'm sorry…" he said.

She shook her head, slowly smiling. "No… It's not your fault… You were too young back then…"

He put his paw down and looked at his mask again. He was feeling a little guilty now about leaving. But at the same time, he just wanted to leave all of this behind because of what happened.

Then, as soon as they were having their moment of silence, the front door can be heard slammed shut and he turned to the direction of it.

Angel sniffed. "Looks like they're on it again…" she said.

He turned to her. "On what again?" he asked.

"A group known as the Flock has appeared. They normally would try to kill every one of us. But… They still have no idea that the Fangers are the ones that have been hunting… That's why we wear masks whenever we hunt…"

Max stood up and looked out. He gripped his mask tight. He wanted to see this himself. He took a step forward slowly and hesitantly.

"Where…?" was all Angel said before she was cut off.

"I… Want to see this…" he answered.

Angel stared at him in disbelief. She even thought for a second that her ears were deceiving her but she was sure that she didn't mishear that. She crawled to the nearest drawer and grabbed something out of it which caught his attention.

She pulled out a pair of arm braces. They were made of thick leather. So thick that the scales of the reptile skin was still there. The braces were made as fingerless gloves sewn to the braces. They were three blades on the side and three more on the upper side of the glove area. There was one on the wrist area diagonally underneath.

"Give me your arms," she said to him. "And take off those gloves." He was hesitant at first and she could sense this. "Trust me."

He looked at her, and later nodded. He stretched out his arms slowly after taking off his gloves, putting them in his pockets.

She then began to put the braces on him. First putting his paws into the glove part and then strapped the forearm on.

She stared in awe. "A perfect fit…" she commented. "They really are meant for you…"

"What are these?" he said clenching his fist. And with that movement, the blades on the outer side of his arms extended like a switchblade. He stared at it and began to shake.

"They're called Sabre Blades," Angel explained. "They're hunting tools for the Fangers. We actually… Have one prepared for you… Long ago…"

He relaxed his paw and the blade retracted. Angel then pulled a lever, that was located on the inner arm, upwards, extending the four blades, three on his top fist and the other one under his wrist. The blades were positioned of a claw. The four blades were shaped like crescents as if karambit knives were replacing his four fingers.

She then pulled the lever down, retracting the four blades.

"If you focus on clenching your fists, the blades on the ulna side will extract."

"Like… A frill-necked lizard?" he said.

"Something like that. Only, you have more control of it. The inside of the gloves have a sensor that will sense your pulse or force that will release it."

Max looked at his arms and then to his sister. "Then… Take me there now…"

 **Later…**

Angel drove the young fox to a dense forest with one of their pick-up truck. It was already dark and the moon was already visible. She brought him on top of a hill where he saw a group of animals in black uniform and helmets, holding guns and rifles standing their ground while aiming at the trees.

He got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He was observing them carefully. And as he did, he could see a tiger and a black wolf wearing masks at the scene, jumping from tree to tree, ground to tree, popping out from bushes and damaged the group little by little.

There was a third member in the masked group. Another black canine. And, they were all shirtless. The only thing they have on were their pants and masks along with the weapon that Max currently has as well, the Sabre Blades.

Max gazed at them in amazement. Their speed. Their agility. Their form. All perfect. Truly worthy of the name predators.

The group in blacks were a mixed members of prey and predator. They were firing their guns at the Fangers but none of the bullets managed to hit them. He could hear yelling, and screaming. He wasn't sure it was because they were afraid, or was it because they were giving it their all.

And as he kept on witnessing this scene, the black wolf Fanger caught one of the mammal in uniform in his blade and sliced open his guts, causing the victim to die from blood loss.

"ELIAS!" one of them yelled.

And it was that moment that the fox himself reacted to this with his eyes wide open. It was almost as if they were calling for him instead.

"Those are the Flocks…" Angel said. "They would try to hunt us down anytime. The reason why Daddy and Uncle Thomas are here now was because there was a call for help." She pointed one of the black canine in mask which was probably not Thomas, the one that killed one of the Flock members earlier. "Jeremy there was the one that called…" She turned to her brother. "You see… Unlike most predators… Our family… Is almost gone… Soon, there WILL be no bloodline anymore. That's why… Protecting each other is important…"

Max watched on and said nothing as an answer.

She sighed. "I know it's tough on you…" she continued. "And… I'm sure you're surprise since you don't remember us. But… If possible… We want you back… To help us…"

He slowly turned his head to his sister and his body shook. He just stared at her for a while. And after a few seconds… He could feel his heart beating. Not beating from embarrassment. But beating because it was instinct.

He grabbed his heart. He could feel his urge to hunt rising. He dropped to his knees and sprawled on the ground while his body was still trembling. And to top it off… He was getting hungry…

"T-Teddy…?" Angel stuttered.

His eyes widened. His teeth gritted as saliva slowly drooled down his chin. His pupils dilated so much. He began to growl. He couldn't bear it any longer and so he put on his mask and leapt forward, crashing the party in the centre like a superhero.

All eyes were on him.

"Another fucking one?!" one of the mammals in uniform yelled. The Flock aimed their rifles at the tod as they watched on.

The tiger then laughed. It was Ezekiel's voice. "Well… Looks like the new member has finally decided to make his debut."

One of the black canines laughed. "We'll be feasting tomorrow!" said the one named Jeremy, clapping his paws.

"Shut it, Jerry," Thomas said in a relaxing tone. "Don't get your hopes up."

Max looked up slowly and noticed that his family members were all wearing masks and the same braces as he was. Only theirs were brown leather.

"Time for the hunt!" yelled Jeremy.

Max lowered his body, ready to pounce his first victim. The Flock were cautious of him and focused their aim but couldn't. They were shaking. Mainly because they were exhausted. Max then turned to the side which was the carcass that he saw with the clean opened stomach. He then turned to his family.

And for some reason, he leapt towards Jeremy instead and began clawing the back of his head.

The black wolf screamed in pain. "What the fuck are you doing?!" he yelled, getting the fox off his face. But Max's attack didn't stop. The moment he was shoved off, his hind legs sprang forward and tackled the wolf and pinning him down.

He clenched his right fist, unleashing the blades on the outer side of his arm and cut the armpit area, almost slicing off the first part he was aiming.

The wolf screamed and squirmed in agony as Max stepped on his uninjured arm, pinning him down completely. The wolf's cut arm was eventually completely unable to move now.

Max then pushed the lever on his right brace, drawing out the claw blades. "Go to hell…" he said. And just after that, as quick as lightning, he thrust his blades and paws into the chest of his relative.

The wolf was unable to move. Unable to feel. But was still alive and breathing. Barely…

And after a few seconds, Max pulled out his arm. And in his paw… Was a heart that was still beating but later stopped. He dropped the vital organ down and then stepped on the chest of the fresh carcass, yelling in the sky, signifying his victory.

The whole crowd watched on in disbelief. What they witnessed was something they never expected to see. A predator… Hunting a predator…

"What… Did you do… Boy…?" Ezekiel said irately.

Max turned to him. "I won't do this…" he said. "I… I will NOT continue this 'tradition'. I'm NOT like you! Not like ANY of you!"

Everyone stared in silence. Ezekiel looked down and clicked his tongue. "I had hope for you…" he said, slowly looking up. "And don't make me abandon that hope again, boy…" Ezekiel was ready to face him head on. The proof was that he drew out his own blades but was stopped by Thomas.

"A parent should not do this," he said. "I will be the one to do it."

There was hesitation in the tiger's eyes and he eventually nodded, letting his brother-in-law handle him.

Max put his foot away from the wolf carcass and prepares for the attack.

"Boss…" one of the mammals in uniform whispered softly. "What do we do?"

Silence, as the group known as the Flock watch.

And after a few seconds, the leader who was a huge male deer with large antlers swallowed and answered. "For now… Let's just see what happens…" They all reloaded their weapons and held them carefully just in case.

The two masked predators kept stepping to the sides, trying to find some space to prepare. And the black wolf rubbed his feet in the ground, showing his spot while Max's tail swing slowly, cautious of his every surroundings. The two predator growled at each other as they looked dead in the eye.

The moment of silence broke when Thomas sprang forward and Max did the same. The first thing they did was draw out the blades on the side of their arms and try to cut each other only, their weapons collide with a screech. Then they drew out their other blades and kept clashing on each other like swords.

The wolf blocked one of Max's attack and shoved his arm in the air, deflecting his arm away and drew out his claw blades, trying to hit his torso. But Max was quick and blocked the attack with his free left arm, using the brace as a shield while Thomas tried to make a dent on him.

"Got you," he said, clenching his fist, drawing out the blade on the side of his left arm. The three blades extended and cut off the wolf's every finger, except the thumb, on his right paw.

Thomas screamed in pain and grabbed his paw, squeezing his wrist to slow down the bleeding. And through this, Max took advantage of his situation and pulled out the blades to his claws, penetrating both his weapons into the stomach of the wolf. As in, penetratred THROUGH his body, with his paws on the other side of his victim, now covered in blood and a terrible odor around them.

Thomas tried to breathe but to no avail, he was at his wits end. The last thing he did was placed his left paw on Max's arm before dying from blood loss. The fox screamed in anger and clenched his fists once more to activate the side blades on both arms, slicing the body in half, separating the torso and bottom from each other.

The fresh new carcass was now in two pieces as the victor stared at the innards that was laid before him. He breathed heavily and slowly turned his head to face his father who was looking back at him.

Tension arises from this new conflict. And Max has only just begun unleashing the beast within him…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

There are things that I can't control. Mostly my emotions, my thoughts and my desires. That's why honesty is not just a virtue for me. But it's the way to control myself. Keeping everything inside, only makes the monster in you wanting to be released. That's why, I'm not afraid to show who I really am. Even if it means killing someone…

* * *

 **Next chapter:** **(Child of Promise)** After massacring two of his relatives in front of his father, Max has finally decided on what to do. Which is to hunt down every single one of them until he is the only one left. What he ended up eventually while trying to rest, he found out what he was destined to do.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know, I know. A little TOO overkill. But this as I've said before. This was exactly why I never wanted to write this.

But now that that chapter is done, I'll get chapter 3 ready. This took longer than I thought. But I honestly am having fun writing this. The reason why I decided to post this today was because it's my birthday and well… I'm finally 21. Also, thanks for telling me some of your OCs.


	3. Child of Promise

**A/N:** _I was rereading all the reviews from one of my old fanfics, Under One Roof. I remembered that I said last year on my birthday was the worst. Well now, this year tops it off. I'm not gonna say what it is since I'm not here to complain, but at least I cheered up looking through all those old reviews and I wondered, "Where the fuck are all my old readers?" I laughed at this because, you know, the hype for Zootopia has been LONG gone. And I don't think they even remembered my OCs, Max and Sophie._

 _I was so proud of that work because I was able to give it my all but it actually true because since I could have done more. But that's why this story will be different. It will definitely be my all as it will be the last story I'll ever write for the Zootopia fandom. Honestly, I hate my life. But, I love to tell stories even if no one listens or reads them. Anyway, I sound like a complaining brat. Let's get on with the story._

 **Disclaimer:** _Zootopia isn't mine. But the characters here are. And some belongs to others._

 **Last chapter** **(Beast Within):** _After a brutal finish on two of his relatives, Max is now face-to-face against his father, Ezekiel. What is their next course of action and what will become of their situation now?_

* * *

Three carcasses laid on the ground. A group in black known as the Flock were watching the two predators facing each other. The tiger standing up straight and relaxing while the fox was on all four, looking up at his next target, his own father.

Max was growling softly with his eyes very focus on his target as Ezekiel stayed calm, looking and blinking slowly at his son.

He let out a sigh. "Don't make me upset, boy," he finally spoke. "You're just hungry, aren't you?"

The fox slowly lifted his legs a bit. "Hungry…?" he repeated. It took a moment before he gave a good answer. He shook his head. "No… I'm merely doing it because of my instincts. Inside… I can feel like… I just want all of this to end… But I know it won't… So I'll end it myself!"

The tiger closed his eyes and sighed. "So you're betraying your own kind for this… 'Peace'?"

Silence again. Then Max shook his head once more. "Not for peace… But for freedom… No one should have their death decided… Especially being eaten when their reason is to be eaten…"

Ezekiel looked up in the sky. "This is just like that night… With you gone again, huh? Then…" He took a step back and drew out the claw blades from both his paws. "I'll make sure I'll at least say goodbye this time."

Without wasting anymore time, the two predators began their attack. Clawing and slashing and cutting as much and quick as they can, trying to inflict at least a single damage on each other. Max was quick but Ezekiel was tough. So tough, Max could have sworn his blade didn't even give a wound on the tiger's skin even thought it was a direct cut.

Ezekiel noticed his eyes were focusing on another direction and drew out his side blades after clenching his paws into a fist, cutting the fox. But only his shirt before Max realized it and blocked the attack with his own side blades. However, even though he was using both his arm, the tiger was really pushing him back like a hydraulic press.

Max tried his utmost strength to push back but he knew wasn't able to deflect it. So he jumped to the opposite side and rolled before standing on all four again while trying to stay focus. However, the strength that his father has put into to cut him managed to weakened his arms a little. But he was still standing firmly. Just barely. He frowned in pain but didn't grit his teeth to show the weakness.

Unfortunately, it was enough to indicate his status to Ezekiel. He smirked behind his mask and ran like a predator before side kicking his son. Max was still fast enough to move and ducked lower, spinning around trying to send a roundhouse kick on his father's hind legs. But Ezekiel was standing his ground like a statue and picked him up by the ankle before tossing him in the air and push kicked him when he was in position, sending the fox flying to hit one of the trees.

"Boss…" called one of the members of Flock towards the leader, who was a large deer. "Your call?"

The leader thought for a moment then decided. "Put down the one that's left standing," he said softly.

"Roger that…" The groups kept their weapons in position waiting for the opportunity to appear as the two predators kept on fighting.

As Max tried to stand up, Ezekiel leapt in the air, unleashing his side blades, about to chop his son in half but the fox managed to blocked his attack with both his arms. But it was the same outcome as before. The tiger was a lot stronger than him and the tip of one of the blade almost touched his head.

"You can't beat me, boy," Ezekiel said, calmly and full of confidence. "Unlike you, I have more experience as a Hunter."

Hearing the word 'Hunter', Max gritted his teeth in annoyance. "So… What…?!" he said, slowly managing to push back a little.

And to the tiger's surprised, he pushed back with all of his might but was now no match for Max's current strength for some reason.

Max began to roar as he slowly deflect the attack and sent a side kick on the ribs of the tiger. And this time, it managed to cause some damage on the large predator.

Ezekiel placed his paw on his ribs in pain. It definitely hurt, but it was nowhere close to broken. But because of this, he knew Max was very dangerous now. "Looks like the hunt stops here for today," he said.

But Max didn't listen and began to push forward.

Of course, Ezekiel knew this would happen and grabbed a large log, tossing at his blood-related son.

It was slow so Max managed to release his side blades in the nick of time and cut off the log in two as if it was nothing as the two pieces went flying almost hitting the members of the Flock.

He glanced back for a moment to check if they were okay and thankfully, no one was hurt. He turned back to his father only to find him gone already. He turned left and right, making sure he could at least catch his scent. But alas, nothing.

The tod stood up properly and gazed into the forest. Wherever his father was, he managed to survive that.

"Freeze!" yelled someone behind him. He turned around to find guns pointing at his direction. Everyone was raising their rifles at him, but their leader, the deer, has a pistol instead.

Max didn't move from his spot and just stared at the group. He was about to make a run for it. But… Something caught his attention.

The body of their lost comrade remained behind with one of them who was crawling helplessly to it. "Elias…" the member called out, taking off his helmet. It was a ferret, who was crying, shaking the carcass. "Elias… Don't die…! Elias…! Elias!"

The group looked back at their crying comrade who was desperately calling out to the dead.

"Aoi…" was all one of them could say, seeing that scene.

The fox stood there and lowered his head. He faced them for a few moments before swiftly turning around, making his escape into the woods.

The Flock noticed this and turned their attention to him but was too late. "Stop!" the leader said, firing his gun. He missed a few shots but managed to hit one in Max's shoulder from behind in the end. The fox's cry was already enough to indicate he was hit. However, he managed to disappear into the trees with the darkness covering his trace.

The deer lowered his weapon quickly after seeing his target escape. He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Wake up, Elias! Wake up!" the ferret, who was called Aoi, was still shaking his dead comrade awake. "You can't die! You just can't!"

"Aoi…" called another of their comrade who took off his helmet as well. Another wolf, white. He placed a paw the crying predator's shoulder. "He's gone… I'm sorry…"

Aoi cried, hammering his fist onto the chest of the dead fox named Elias, still refusing to believe this has happened.

Another member took off her helmet and is revealed to be a white goat. She then kicked the log that Max cut earlier in frustration, yelling.

The leader took a step forward and inhaled deeply before releasing it. "Just what the fuck are these guys?" he asked himself quietly.

After escaping from the Flock, Max managed to reached the urban part of the island in the middle of the road. He crossed to the other side and spotted a convenience store there. He decided to hide at the back to catch his breath. And as he was doing so, there was a concave mirror on the side of the streets. He looked into it and then at himself.

He was covered in blood. His blades, arms, body, face and mask all in a red mess. But yet, he felt nothing. He could only stare at it and blinked slowly. The only thing he was thinking was why does this not affect him? Was he already born to kill others so easily?

He turned his focus back on walking behind the store. After making to the back, he leaned on the wall and slowly sat down, taking off his mask and taking his time to catch his breath. He placed a paw on his shoulder that was shot. There was a bullet inside and he needed to extract it out. He was shot from the back and the bullet didn't pentetrate through his shoulders. So… The only option was to pull it out from the front.

He switched the claw blades up on his left brace and looked at his right shoulder where the pain is. He unbuttoned his shirt a little just enough to get his shoulder bare. He took a deep breath with his eyes closed. "Here goes nothing…" he said to himself. He poked the blade lightly into his shoulder and managed to cut through a bit. But he pulled his paw back by reflex because of the sudden pain.

He looked at it for a while and eventually, the lead will be poisoning his blood. He sighed and removed the mask off of his face. He took out his leather gloves from the pocket of his jeans and put them in his mouth to bite.

He inhaled a deeper breath and looked back at his small wound before shoving the claw blades into his shoulder again. Frowning in pain and agony, Max bit his leather gloves that were in his mouth as hard as he can to resist this awful feeling. He was crying softly but still insisted in pulling out the bullet. The blade managed to penetrate through his skin but not that close to the other side. It was somewhere near his clavicle bone on the front.

He bit his gloves harder, covering them in saliva as he run the blade deeper into his wound until he felt something moving. It definitely felt like a bullet there and he pushed the blade ever further to reach it. Max frowned so tightly that he could feel his skin being loosened but after reaching all the way to the back side of the bullet, he carefully pulled the blade back out along with the bullet.

The lead that was still warm dropped with a _clink-clank_ on the ground beside him. With that problem solved, he sighed in relief and took out his gloves in his mouth and look at them. Still not a scratch. These gloves were really tough to even take the damage from biting.

He began unstrapping the braces and drops them on the ground along with his tired arms. He leaned on the wall and slowly his back slide down as his body was drained from energy. He looked up in the sky. He could see flies all over the lights and the moon which was partially covered by the clouds.

"Tired?" said someone beside him.

He turned to the voice slowly and finds his sister standing there. He sighed. "Shit…" he commented. He knew what was going to happen now but he was already too tired to fight back. But, he tried. He lifted his arms slowly only to be pushed back by Angel.

"Don't," she said. "Just rest."

He was speechless. Was she helping him? She moved his arms a bit and shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprise at Daddy's strength. What I'm actually more surprise is that you manage to push him back despite your size."

Max blinked slowly, still breathing heavily. "Was that a compliment…?" he said.

She smiled at him and patted his head. "Anyway, it's not safe anymore to come back. But I still wanna help you. Come on."

She wrapped his arm around her neck as she helped him get into the truck. Max chose to trust her and decided to let her do her thing. When he got into the passenger seat, he noticed his luggage was in there this time. It seemed that she had already prepared to take his stuff for him to go.

"I can't guarantee if this is a safe place, but at least it's better than nothing," Angel said, starting the engine after grabbing all his stuff that he placed there into the truck beside him.

Max looked at her as she drove off to somewhere. He sighed. "Why…?" he asked. "I… Killed two of our relatives… I mean it when I said I was going to kill everyone in our family…"

She could only smile. "Then so be it. At least it's better than losing you." He stared at her, listening to her attentively. "From the start, I never cared anything about what our family do. For 20 years, all I could think about is you and mommy. Ever since you two were gone, daddy was being overprotective with every one of us. But… It only made me lonelier… Since he's not around much… And Michelle… I just don't see her as a mother… That's why…" She looked at him. "If you feel like killing me, then I'll be waiting."

He frowned. She sounded a lot like Sophie… He looked outside the window and saw lamp posts passing by them at every 2 seconds. He looked back at her. "Shouldn't you be home? Ezekiel is gonna be suspicious of you."

"Don't worry about me. I can handle myself too. It's better to die for something. Or… Someone…"

It was at this moment, Max has decided to trust her. It has been a while since he's seen someone other than Sophie so willing to stay by his side. But he was now confuse on whether he should kill her or not. It was not the time to decide yet so he chose to let her off for now.

"I've… Never killed before, you know…" she suddenly spoke up.

He shifted his eyes to her.

She glanced at him and noticed this. "I'm being completely honest… I've never killed anyone before. I never even thought about doing it. Most of the time, daddy would bring back the meal and I would just eat it. Even until now. I… Don't mind what I eat…. But I DO sometimes regret about eating them… I even thought for a second that I was out of place… But… Seeing you again… And after seeing what you did… I know… I'm not alone who thought of the same…" She faced him with a bright smile. "I'm happy…"

Max's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it.

"But…" She focused on the road again. "It's too bad huh…? That you're gonna kill me too…?" She laughed nervously. "But as long as it's you, I don't mind. I'm in the wrong too… I knew what I was eating… But I've never once decline about eating prey meat… I'll accept my consequences."

He blinked and looked back out the window, letting out a sigh. "It sucks huh…?" he said.

She nodded. "But I won't run. I'll be waiting until that day comes."

It was a rather shocking development between the siblings. Even though one of them will be pacified permenantly. However, at this point, the younger fox was having second thoughts. But he didn't had time. He closed his eyes as his sister drove to where she promised to take him.

While the siblings were on their way to their destination, Ezekiel returned home all tired. He locked the doors and removed his braces, tossing them on the coffee table before resting on the couch.

"Welcome home," said a female voice by the entrance. He turned around and smiled. It was Michelle. "You seemed more exhausted than ever." She walked over to him with her arms crossed. "And how's Thomas?"

Ezekiel's smiled vanished the moment she reminded him of that. "Your brother's gone…" Ezekiel said sounding pity.

She sighed. "It can't be help… The Flocks are really putting us down tight lately…"

Her husband shook his head. "No…" he said. "Flocks didn't get him. Same goes for Jeremy. It was Theodore…"

The female wolf spun her head quickly to her husband's direction. She didn't say anything but looked at him, hoping that he would repeat that.

But he noticed this and nodded his head. "It's true." He stood up. "Theodore is against us. And he claimed that he would kill every one of us until he's the only one left."

Michelle stared at him and then her eyes lowered to the ground. "That's a disappointment…" she commented.

Ezekiel smiled. "Not really," he said, standing up, placing a paw on his broken ribcage. "I wasn't angry about him killing us. But I'm disappointed because of something else…"

His wife's eyes spread into a shock. "You mean…?"

He nodded with a smirk. "Eventually, he will learn of it." The tiger looked up in the ceiling. "Are the kids asleep?"

"Sarah is. But I'm not sure where Angel went."

Ezekiel laughed. "Well… Not that I'm worried about her. But she's an adult now. She should know what to do herself." He turned around and walk up the stairs. "I need a shower. Mind getting supper ready? I'm hungry."

 **Later…**

After burying their comrade, the Flock returned to their base. It was a small countryside town and it looked like a rundown club. The group was in a modern multi-stop truck and they arrived at their base with a rather depressing atmosphere right now.

The team now consisted of five members. The leader who was in the passenger seat, was a male deer with large antlers and a huge built body, was looking out the window on his end with no emotions being expressed on his face. The driver, a male arctic wolf, after stopping in front of the club, his paws were tightly firmed on the steering wheel. He was shaking, not in fear, but with anger because of a lost member.

There were the other three at the back. Two of them were goats. One was black and a male. His horn was curved backwards but not as long as the other one. The other was a female and had white fur instead. Unlike the male, her horns were in a spiral shape that matches a capricorn's. As for the other who was sitting next to the black goat, it was a ferret, the one that refused to believe that his comrade died. He was still crying but now lesser. All he did was sniff and hiccup from time to time. And from the looks of it, he was the youngest one in the group.

"How the fuck did this happen…?" said the deer. "It's bad enough we were betrayed… But to think that the one betrayed really DID kill one of us…?"

Silence filled in the van. The night wasn't getting any younger, yet time stopped in that immobile box. Everyone's heads were down, mourning two of their lost friend. One that betrayed them, the other with his life taken by the one turned on them.

"I thought Jeremy could be trusted…" the leader continued, now with a sad tone. "I thought we were all going after the same thing…"

As it turns out, it would seem that the one named Jeremy, Max's first victim, was one of them but turned his heel on the last second. The group began remembering what happened.

They were hunting in the woods for the Hunters only to realize it was false information when they entered the zone. It was already a trap the moment Jeremy told them and Ezekiel and Thomas were already waiting. They soon recall what really disappoint them the most. They were unable to kill Jeremy. Even after he cut one of his own friends, Max, in the stomach open.

"I wonder if he even planned it from the start… The moment he joined this group…" the deer went on, leaning back into his seat and looking at underneath the roof of the truck. "Did those fun times with us… Mean nothing to him at all…?"

It was pure silence. Not a single word nor thought was being formed from anybody. The leader then looked at all his group members and sighed.

"Honestly… I don't care if one of you betray us…" he said. "If you seriously don't think of us as a team anymore, then there's no point in staying."

No one said anything. But white goat looked up and nodded. "I'm always down for whatever this team does," she said.

The other goat raised his head up to look at his boss. "Me too."

However, the other two predators, the ferret and wolf, said nothing. The deer placed a hoof on the wolf's shoulder. "Rodriguez," he called. "You and I have been in the military together longer than anyone else. I know I can trust you. You don't even need to say a word."

The wolf, known as Rodriguez, only nodded and sniffed a little, indicating he was grateful for the leader's trust.

"Aoi…" the deer said, turning to look at the ferret at the back of the truck. "You just said you wanted a family right? Well, families don't have to say for each other. We only back each other up. Understood?"

The ferret, Aoi, sniffed one more time, not looking up and nodded.

The leader let out another sigh and gave out one last order for the day. "Let's get some sleep. We need to make some money after all."

There was a slight pause for a moment but later, everyone exited out the van and headed into the base, leaving what happened earlier behind without any regret but sorrow. All they could do now was try to get some sleep and keep moving forward. After all, they were all here for the same reason. They were doing this together for only one reason. Which was money. Nothing more. Nothing less… That was the way of the Flock.

As dusk was disappearing with the time passing by, the siblings were now in some kind of motel that seemed rarely it had any visitors. There were no cars, no vehicles, not a single soul to be seen except insects. The motel was an L shaped building if seen from the top. The receptionist office was at the short end of the L on the tip where it was facing outside while the bedroom for the receptionist room is right next door, connected to the office. There was a total of eight rooms on the long end of L.

Angel was still driving while Max was sleeping peacefully, still holding onto his wound to stop the bleeding. However, it wasn't long till Angel found a parking spot. There was someone at the receptionist and he spotted the truck that was in front of him before walking out the door.

It was an older tiger with three claw marks on his left eye. Much older. Almost as if he can't walk up straight even. His pupil on the left eye was white, showing that he was blind one side. The marks probably would explain why.

He took a closer look to see who it was, he waved at Angel after she got out of the car.

"Angel!" he called, spreading his arms wide. "How's my niece?"

The vixen smiled and hugged her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Obadiah," she greeted.

"What brings you here so early in the morning?" he asked, placing his paws on his hips. "And where's the family?"

She placed an index finger on her lips. "It's a secret," she said. "I have someone injured and I was wondering if you could take a look at him."

"Better not be a prey. I don't wanna scare him."

She giggled. "Even better." She looked back into the truck. "It's Teddy…"

After answering his question, the tiger's smile vanished and he looked in the truck.

A fox was sleeping in the passenger seat with his paw holding on to his bleeding shoulder. He was covered by his grey hoodie as a blanket as he snored quietly with his mouth hanging open.

His sister shook his body, waking him up. His eyelids slowly lifted themselves up and he looked out at the opened door on his side to find his sister.

His lips stretched to only one side to his ears in disappointment. "Where's the sun?" he said. And he asked the right question since it was still dark out. It was around past 2am in the morning when they arrived at the motel.

"Just get down first," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him out.

They walked up to the old tiger.

"Uncle Obadiah, meet Teddy," Angel said, showing Max to him. "Though, I'm not quite sure you remember him. But just look at his back. He's got our mark."

The tiger looked from her to him with his ears being lowered and looked closed at the tod. He definitely felt a strange feeling of them meeting before.

Max sighed and turned around, lifting his shirt to show the burn mark on his lower back and it was enough proof to get the tiger, named Obadiah, to believe it.

He smiled and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Welcome home, kid," he said. He then turned to Angel. "So? What about him? You know I'm already retired."

She shook her head. "It's not that," she said, waving her paws in denial. "He's hurt and he needs to be treated. Flock has got him."

"They're still at it huh?" The tiger scratched his chin. Max took a good look at his paws too. His claws were as sharp as Ezekiel's. However, some of the nails were chipped off and some were still intact. "There's no helping is there? Come on in. Old Uncle Obadiah will take care of you."

"Also," Angel continued. But before she did, she ran to the truck and retrieved Max's luggages, handing it to her brother. "Please let him stay for the night. Just for a while."

Her uncle frowned in confusion. "I don't understand why but, I'll do it." He turned to the tod and patted his back. "Come on in, sonny. We need to get that wound checked."

Angel smiled and hugged her uncle as thanks. "Thanks again, Uncle," she said. She turned to Max. "Uncle Obadiah is trustworthy. Don't worry about it. I promise."

Max blinked a few times and then yawned. "I got it… Thanks…"

"It's the least I can do. Now I gotta go. Daddy's gonna be real pissed if he doesn't find me in bed before 6. Take care, Teddy." She got into the truck and started the engine. She waved the two goodbye with one last smile before driving off.

"We best get inside," Obadiah said. "Come. Make yourself comfy. I haven't had guests for over a couple of years now."

Max entered a room with the number 1 which was closest to the receptionist office. He was sitting on bed, waiting for the first aid to show up as he held onto the wounded shoulder. The bleeding managed to slow down after it was being held down for quite a while. It took around 18 minutes for them to reach where they were at now so it wasn't that serious.

The door opened and Obadiah returned with a first aid kit in his paws. He slowly make his way to the chair that was next to his bed and sat down.

"Alright, let's take a look at it," he said.

Max let go and the wound from his claw blade revealed itself.

"That's some injury," he said. "Looked like a knife that cut you, judging from the cut. I was for sure you were shot."

"I was…" he said showing his back where the wound was circular. "I was pulling out the bullet from the front with the claw blades."

"Damn… You're tough aren't you?" Obadiah dipped some disinfectant on the cloth and placed it on his shoulder.

Max's face was shaking in pain but he didn't make a sound, nor did he pull back.

"Hold on to this will you? I need to get the back too."

The fox did as he was told and moved his side a little for his uncle to do the same for his back. The two of them stayed there for a while until the bleeding decides to stop.

"Why didn't you just go to your family? I'm sure they could have helped."

Max chuckled. "I don't think they will… I'm planning to kill them after all…"

Silence but the treatment was still ongoing.

"Kill your own family?" Obadiah repeated.

"Yea… Every… Single… One of them…"

The tiger glanced at him and focused back on the wound. "Guess our time has come finally, huh? If that's what the Child of Promise wants, then just do it."

Max frowned. "Child of Promise?"

Obadiah removed the cloth and checked. "Bleeding should stop now. You can stop." After Max put down the cloth, he lifted his right arm for him to get bandaged up. "Yes, you're the Child of Promise," the tiger continued. "The one that will lead us to a better future. And the one that will give us meaning to our lives."

Max blinked as he looked at his temporary doctor. "I don't understand…" he said.

His uncle chuckled. "You're special. That's what they said. I don't know why. And I could care less about it."

The young tod turned to the tiger with his ears lowered. "Why… Are you helping me?" he asked. "I even said I would kill you. And the rest of the family."

"Well…" Obadiah picked up the bandages and began wrapping it around his shoulder. "I know what I've done. And plus, like I said. I've retired. I've already accept what will happen to me eventually. I'm surprise I'm still alive even." He looked at his nephew. "What I did… Was indeed terrible… I'm sure your father knows that too… But it's just… This tradition is sacred… Especially for you."

Max lowered his head and looked down on the carpeting.

"From the day you were born, everyone in the family were overjoyed," Obadiah went on. "Because you were the future for all of us. A leader. Nobody knew why. But they really believed in you the moment you were given birth. If you say you'll kill us all, we'll definitely let you. After all… How do you think you got your name?"

Max glanced at him. "What…?"

Obadiah smiled. "Theodore means 'gift from God' in Greek. While Soterios means 'Savior'. That's how you were named. Theodore Soterios Fanger. Honestly, I don't know what is it that the others think you were special, but they really believe you will be the leader someday. And a better one than our ancestors were."

The only thing the fox could to was stay silent as he looked down again, with his head occupied with various thoughts.

"Well," Obadiah said, patting the bandaged shoulder. "That should be it. You'll heal in no time. Just try not to be rough." He stood up. "I'll prepare some breakfast in the morning. In the meantime, you get some sleep."

Max swallowed with a worried look on his face.

The tiger laughed. "Don't worry, kid. It'll be bird and fish. I don't eat preys. Not anymore at least…"

Max nodded really slowly as his uncle headed out the door, after leaving the first aid kit on the counter. He turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving his nephew to sleep.

The fox sighed and slowly laid back down after putting on his torn shirt. He looked up at the ceiling and stared at it. He blinked once and an image of Sophie smiling appeared before him. He reached out with his paw only to realize it was just an illusion. Another sigh escape and he closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Sophie…" was his last words before drifting to dreamland.

 **Meanwhile…**

In Zootopia, a hare was turning left and right repeatedly on bed at every few seconds restlessly. She frowned, she twitched, she gritted her teeth before looking up at the ceiling. She blinked a few times and sighed. She turned to the table next to the bed and stared at her phone. She has yet to received any messages from her boyfriend ever since he left Zootopia. She couldn't even get through him. Either because there's no reception there due to the distance between them, or… No… Of course he wouldn't ignore her. She believed that.

"Max…" she called, gripping on the sheets. "I hope you're doing okay…" She raised her left paw up, looking at the silver diamond ring that she wore a few days ago after his proposal. It was shining dimly in the room and she could barely she her reflection on it. She placed her left paw on her heart and then her right paw resting on top of the left, as if protecting the ring to the very end.

She turned to her side and saw an image of a sleeping Max who was still in his hoodie in front of her. He had a ridiculous look on his face when sleeping and she can't help but giggle. She placed her paw on his before realizing it was just an illusion. The smile disappeared from her face and she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Max…" she said finally before going to sleep.

 **Morning…**

Dawn was closing in. It was around 6 in the morning and the fox was sleeping peacefully. And for the first time, he didn't have a stupid look on his face while snoozing off. He was still in the same position as he was from where he fell asleep. Or maybe because the bed was so comfy that it reminded him of the same one as back home in Zootopia.

The door opened slowly and the old tiger peeked in to see that Max was still sleeping. The door opened with a creak but Max was not a light sleeper for today. He didn't budge even after the noise.

Obadiah moved a food cart in which has a pot with a lid on top of it with a teapot and a cup. He stopped when he was in front of the bed and removed the lid, releasing a delicious aroma into the room.

Max's snores were interrupted by this as his nose began to go to work on the smell. He unconsciously moved his head up and later opened his eyes, focusing on the smell.

"Smells like chicken…" he said.

Obadiah laughed. "Wow," he replied. "Just like that and you're already awake? Anyway, it is. You have a good nose. Hope you like chicken soup for breakfast. I decide to go for something simple."

Max moved the blanket away and walked towards the food. He looked into the pot to find indeed it was a chicken and sighed in relief.

"Hey now," Obadiah said, noticing his reaction. "I said it before, didn't I? I don't eat preys anymore. Besides, I raised a lot of birds and fishes myself. I'm too old to hunt anymore." He picked up a bowl and scooped the soup and a part of the chicken into it, filling it almost full before placing it on the cart. "Help yourself. Tea is also prepared if you're wondering."

Max looked at the steaming meal and licked his lips. For once, he never felt happy to eat meat in a while. He even forgot he still has some chocolates left in his bag.

He began chowing down on the legs, chewing it properly before swallowing. It was really well cooked and the saltiness was just perfect to go along with the soup.

Obadiah smiled and stood up. "It's one chicken, by the way," he said. "You can have it all. Don't worry about me. I've already ate."

Max looked up and nodded. "Thank you…" he said, looking at his uncle.

The tiger nodded back and left him alone to finish his meal. "I'll be back to clean it up. Also… I hope you can pay for the stay. Luck isn't much on my side when it comes to business apparently." Obadiah said that with a silly look. Silly as in, tongue sticking out with an awkward smile while scratching the back of his head.

Max, who still has the chicken leg in his mouth, nodded with a "Mhm."

While our hero was enjoying his breakfast, we return to the Flock where the team members were resting rather noisily.

Their base was a single small closed space. The entrance from outside was a flight of stairs leading down like a basement. And entering it would bring them to a small closed space. At the front door, it acted as a balcony to watch over the room. And another flight on the left side would lead down to the living room. However, it was only two steps down to get there. It was a VERY small room but just as big as an elephant. There were no beds. Just hammocks, couches, sheets with no mattresses and a floor to help them sleep. There was a table in the middle of the room in front of the television and a punching bag next to the hammock that was situated at the corner of the room. A cabinet with weapons on the other corner was locked tightly with some hunting gear left on the table which was next to the cabinet.

The place looked like a reusing centre that was made out of junk but was very sturdy and rather creative. A button that would trigger the fire alarm was above the television which was also next to a single-seated couch. A computer was set on a small round table next to the couch by the balcony.

The members of Flock were peacefully sleeping, snoring loudly.

The white goat was sleeping on the sheets and she was the only one not snoring. During her sleep, she was frowning probably because she was aware of how loud the others were. The black goat was sleeping under the table with a blanket on and opposite him was the ferret who was also doing the same. The two were sharing the same blanket. The white wolf was sitting on the couch, head down, snoring quietly while holding his sniper rifle. He, out of all the members, was still in uniform. His ears even twitched from time to time, being aware of their place as if he was on lookout. More like, 'hear-out'. And finally, the deer, the leader, was sleeping on the couch with a magazine on his face, softening the sounds of his snores. All of them were still not awake even though it was already 9am.

And a few minutes after that, the computer started beeping with the word 'HQ' on the screen with a call.

The wolf, Rodriguez, raised his head up and yawned before getting off the seat and answering the call. "Talk to us…" he said after clicking the answer button.

"There's been a lot of disappearance lately in a certain location," said the other end of the call. It was a male. "Get the team out. I'll send you the details."

"Understood…" Rodriguez replied while yawning. He stood up and then pressed the button which turned on the alarm, waking everyone up. He pressed it one more time to turn it off. "We got a job…" he alerted. He looked at everyone who got up and then to the black goat who was still asleep.

He kicked his arm lightly. "Hey, Stephen," he called, kicking one more time to be sure. "Get the fuck up."

The black goat named Stephen, opened one eye lazily and stretched his arms. He yawned and sat up, scratching his back. "Looks like no breakfast today…" he said, standing up reluctantly.

Everyone was rather slow paced as they lazily dragged their weapons and gears from the cabinet and table before heading out. As for the ferret, Aoi, he brought his blanket along and yawned.

"Aoi," called the white goat. He turned around and she handed him a pair of weapons. Sabre Blades. Just like the ones the Fangers have. Only, there were only blades to act as large claws. "You almost forgot these."

Aoi nodded and yawned again. "Thanks, Joanne…" he said.

The team headed out with their leader behind them. The deer was dragging his feet while looking down.

Rodriguez noticed this. "What's wrong, Wright?" he asked his old friend.

The deer, Wright, placed a hoof on his face and rubbed his eye a little and carefully exited out the door in case his antlers won't fit. "It's nothing…" he said. "Just a little drunk from last night… I just need some water…"

Rodriguez nodded and shut the door before the Flock drove off to their destination.

"Looks like we have a lion… Male…" said Stephen, the black goat, looking at his tablet for the details. "Unknown name… But he lives in an apartment… All the missing mammals are preys. And they seem to be working in services. Like plumbers, cleaners, those kinds."

"Okay, then what's so similar about them?" Joanne, the white goat, asked, reloading her pistol.

"Well…" Stephen showed her the tablet with a list. "All of them disappeared after they got THIS address." The list on the tablet was arranged in a spreadsheet with the names of the lost mammals on the left, then their jobs, and finally the address that they received which were all the same. The address was written: The Prideful Stay, Room 501.

"So it seems we got a Hunter living with the public after all…" Wright said, putting on his helmet then testing the flashlight on it.

The Prideful Stay is an apartment in the outskirts of the urban area. There was suppose to be a second building too but the contruction site which was next to the apartment was left unfinished for several months recently due to unknown reasons.

"So we get the public's help for this?" Rodriguez asked, still focusing on the road.

"Nope. It'll only stir up trouble. As much as we know, he may not be alone. Plus, the contractor said we get extra if we do it discretely."

"As always huh…?" the wolf sighed.

Getting back to Max, who just so happened to finished his meal a while ago, he was seen cleaning his Sabre Blades with a new set of clothes while his old ones were being washed. He was covered in blood from last night after all. And to top it off, he even got the bed quite red and it looked like a violent fight took part in it too.

"Theodore?" Obadiah called, entering his room with a basket full of white sheets in it. "Do you think you can change the sheets? You really got it real messy last night."

Max smiled awkwardly and nodded. "I'm really sorry," he said, putting down his braces and cloth. "I'll get to it right now." Max has been getting use to being called Theodore so far. He has yet to tell his new name to his uncle. He knew he told his family but they probably were more comfortable in calling him with his old name instead.

As he was cleaning the sheets, the phone at the receptionist rang and Obadiah walked towards it, answering the call. "Hello?" he greeted. There was a slight pause there after he answered. "No thanks…" he said, sounding a little annoyed. "No… I'm fine…"

Max looked over his shoulder and noticed his uncle feeling a little uneasy. He frowned while covering the bed with the new sheets and firmly smoothen them out on bed before changing a new blanket.

"I really don't need it…" Obadiah went on. "Please… Don't ever call again… And I mean it…" Another pause and this time, instead of denying, he just put down the phone and sighed. He made his way to Max's room to check on him. "Sorry about that," he said, laughing it off. "Some prank caller was on me again."

Max stopped moving and then turned to the tiger. "Who was it?" he asked monotonically.

Obadiah sighed. "An old friend…" he said. "He invited me to eat for lunch… Unlike me, he's still hunting… So I'm sure you will expect preys as meal…"

Max gripped the sheets tight and let go of it quickly. He reached for his mask that was resting by the television and grabbed his blades, strapping them on and shoving his leather gloves into his jean pocket.

"Out hunting your family…?" Obadiah said, making Max stopped in his tracks.

"Does it matter…?" he asked. "As I've said… I'm going to kill every single one of them… Uncle… You're different… So please don't try to stop me…"

The tiger sighed and turned around to face him. "Who's trying to stop you?" he said with a smile. "Instead, follow me. I got a surprise for you."

The two walked to the outer part of the building where there was a garage at the end of the corner. Obadiah raised up the garage door up and inside, something was underneath a sheet. It was shaped like a motorcycle.

"Been a while since I rode this," the tiger said, taking off the sheets. And there stood a muscle bike that was still neat and tidy without a speck of dust on it. It was Harte Davidson Night Blade Special ( _it's actually a Harley Davidson Night Rod Special in real life_ ). And a custom too.

The vehicle was black and had a spraypainted livery of red stripes that look like scars. The headlight has a cover that resembles an anglerfish skull but was chrome and obviously made of metal. The light was placed inside the skull with the teeth acting as the rim of the headlight. Two exhausts lined up together vertically on the right, connected to the engine. A yellow iron fencing was welded with the intercooler on both side in the front on the fuel tank. And the license plate holder was placed on the back of bike with no plate in it.

Obadiah placed his paw on the handle. "Now that I'm retired, I don't think I have any use for this anymore…" he said, opening the port of the fuel tank and began filling it up. He took the keys that was hanging on the wall and turned on the engine after finishing the fuel up. And the bike released a maginificent roar from it. He smiled. "Still alive, eh?" he said, petting the anglerfish skull-shaped headlight. He turned to his nephew. "From now on, this monster is yours. How about it?"

Max stared in awe and looked at it in different angles by walking around it. The sound of the engine was glorious almost as if the bike was alive itself. He slowly turned to his uncle. "Can I really keep it?" he asked.

"Why not? Think of this as a homecoming gift from me."

Max looked at it and sat on it. He placed his paws on the handle. "Feels nice," he said.

Obadiah nodded and walked to the table with a set of tools. "Now then, go ahead and name her," he said. "I'll prepare the license plate."

Max looked at the meter and saw the fuel was at full. He then looked at the livery and observed the scar-shaped stripes on the bike. He pulled the handle back, making it roar one more time and sighed, making up his mind.

"Then…" he said. "I'll call her, Theta ( _pronounced as Thii-Ta_ ). The Greek symbol of Death."

The tiger chuckled and placed some numbers and letters on the plate. "Then, I hereby renamed this beast…" He pushed down the heater, welding the numbers and letter on the plate. "Theta." He picked it up and put it in the plate holder. The bike's new license plate has been given: TH374U ( _Theta can be called Tau for short. I combined the words Theta and Tau into Thetau making the code match its name as TH374U._ )

He then picked a modular helmet up from the shelves and handed it to Max. The fox gladly accepted it and put it on, pulling the visor down.

"The place isn't far from here," Obadiah said. "Once you leave the motel, turn right and follow the road until you see a seven-story building. There's a sign that should say 'The Prideful Stay' when you enter the area and should be the only building in white. And if that's not enough, then try to find a construction site beside the building. The guy is a lion. Male. Full mane."

Max nodded and lifted up the kickstand. "I'll be off then…" he said. He turned to his uncle and bowed. "Thanks again…" With that said, he set off to find his next target, leaving a trail of the beautiful sound of the engine behind him.

As Max makes his way to his destination, the Flock has already arrived. They were wearing their uniforms. But they were also wearing hazmet suits over them as diguise to not raise any suspicions in public, pretending to be a group of exterminators. They were even wearing gas masks on to cover their faces just in case as they make their way to room 501. Someone even came out by coincidence but thanks to their excuse as exterminators, the mammal returned back into the room.

Room 501 was on the fifth floor and was the room all the way back at the corner of the building.

They reached their location and Stephen knocked on the door with the team leaning to the wall, avoiding to be seen by the owner of the room.

The door opened slightly which was enough for a pair of eyes to reveal themselves. Stephen only managed to look at the eyes and nothing more. "What is it…?" said the owner in a deep male voice.

"I'm an exterminator," Stephen said smiling. "I just need to leave some insecticides in the room."

The mammal blinked slowly. "Are you alone?" he asked.

"Not really. The rest of the my group are downstairs doing the other rooms."

Another blink. "I'll open the door then." The door closed again for the mammal to unchain the lock.

And as he was unlocking the door, the team quickly took off their hazmet suits, wearing their gloves and prepared their guns. Aoi strapped on the arm braces and shook his arms, preparing for the extermination.

As soon as the locks were heard opened, Joanne, the white goat, pulled the door quickly and in front of them was a male lion standing there covered in blood. He took a step back after realizing the black goat wasn't alone and they were all pointing their guns at him.

"Target confirmed!" Wright, the leader, said. "Pest control begin!"

Aoi jumped over the group and decide to attack first. He drew out his metal claws from the braces. The lion quickly ran back into the room and put on his own braces as well. As Aoi chased after him, the target kicked him away, pushing the ferret back before unsheathing his own blade.

The lion's blade was on the side but only have one on each arm. It was a long blade that was placed on his forearm and was just as long as his entire arm. The blades could cut through someone if they get close to his elbows.

The lion roared softly and tried chopping Aoi while he was down but the ferret managed to roll out of safety. Aoi stood up quickly only to be push kicked into the kitchen and hitting the refrigerator open. As the team tried to back up Aoi, Rodriguez turned to the fridge and took a glanced inside it. He quickly turned away when he saw a goat's head inside and frowned in disgust.

While being distracted by this, the lion carried Aoi up and tossed him over the counter with one arm as if he was nothing which sent the ferret crashing to a table, splitting the furniture in half. The size of the lion was abnormally larger than a normal adult lion as well which would explain his strength.

Aoi flinched in pain and Wright shot his pistol to buy the predator some time to recuperate. Although he shot the lion, the huge predator felt nothing even though he was bleeding. But it looked more like a flesh wound instead.

"Aoi!" Joanne yelled. "You're moving too slow!"

Stephen quickly lifted the little predator up. "You okay, Blue?" he asked.

Aoi shook his head. "This just isn't right…" the ferret said, standing up. "We're lacking a member for our formation…"

The black goat clicked his tongue. "I know what you mean…" he agreed.

The lion tried kicking the male goat but he quickly dodged the attack. Joanne cut his sides with her knuckle-knives in her paws but just got enough to make a small cut. "How long are you gonna sob?!" she directed to Aoi. "You got us, don't you?!"

Hearing this, Aoi gritted his teeth and tackled the lion, scratching him repeatedly on the torso with his claw blades.

The lion took a few hits on purpose before grabbing the ferret by the back and then kneed him in the stomach. Aoi coughed from the impact and as the target was amused by his work, the team pulled out a metal wire and tied him up, trying to push him back. Stephen pushed a button on the side of his belt, holding on to it, activating the electricity conducting in the wire which sent the huge predator to a shock.

"Blue! Now!" Stephen yelled as they held on to the cable.

Aoi raised his paws up, about to strike only to be kicked my the lion away. The huge predator then punched Stephen away, which later turned off the electricity after letting go of the button then punched Joanne in the stomach before kicking her into the wall.

The lion then pinned her against the wall and licked his fangs in hunger.

"Joanne!" Aoi screamed.

And just when the goat was about to be food…

The window to the balcony broke and in comes a familiar predator with a mask. This time, he was wearing his usual grey hoodie and cargo pants. He pulled the lion back and shoved him into the counter, trying to break his spine. The fox in the mask pinned of the lion's paw down while sending punches into his snout, trying to break it.

The lion then kicked him back but Max made a huge brake before tackling his target again.

The team then backed off with their weapons still pointing to the target but now also to the masked fox.

"It's him…" said Wright.

The feline and canine fought each other as if fighting over a territory. Max grabbed the muzzle of the lion and slowly bend it upwards. He was trying to break every fiber of the lion's bones with his strength.

The lion noticed this and swiped his paw away with his own strength before engaging to slit the fox open with his blades. But Max used his own side blades as a shield before kicking the lion in the gut hard, sending him flying in mid air temporarily as he crashed onto the main table of the living room.

The lion got up quickly and backed away from the red fur predator.

"Is he seriously helping us?" Stephen asked the team, only to be interrupted by the fight again.

Max drew out the metal claws in his braces and tried to hit however, his arm was caught by the lion. The target raised his other arm up, about to cut Max's arm off. But Aoi tackled him before he could took a part of the fox's body off.

Aoi stayed on the lower torso, pushing him back against the counter. Max saw this chance and rushed towards his target, sending a dropkick in middle of the lion's face as hard as he can. The kick sent the lion over to the other side and his nose began to bleed. The lion hurriedly stood up and made his run outside.

"Get back here!" Max yelled with dilated eyes, seeing this as he began his chase.

But as he went out, there was no trace of the escaped predator. He looked left and right, trying to get a scent but nothing.

He breathed heavily, trying to catch a break in the meantime as he focus while the Flock followed behind him, searching for their target as well while Aoi stayed back in the room to recover.

"He's gone," Stephen said, looking at Max's position while the rest are looking at other sides.

Joanne then noticed something. "That's strange…" she said.

"What is?" Wright asked back.

"Despite all the noise we made…" she answered. "No one came and check…"

"But wasn't there someone that came out earlier?" Rodriguez asked. "The one where we asked to stay in their room."

"That really is strange…" Wright agreed, lowering his pistol.

As Max looked left and right, he raised his head up in suspicion. "Huh…?" he reacted. He sniffed again. "What's with this smell…?"

"What's wrong?" Wright asked.

Max didn't answer and focused on the smell again. It was coming from all over. Above, below, left, right, front, back. Everywhere.

And as the team were on high alert, a door was heard opened. Then another. And another. And another. Eventually, all the doors of the building was opened. And all of residence exited. All of them were lioness with their mouth covered in blood. Some on the paws. Some on the belly. All random.

"Are you fucking kidding me…?" Joanne said, taking a step back with her team.

The team and Max could only stared at the incoming army.

Walking towards them now was a pride of lionesses. The Flock raised their guns up after realizing now, why the apartment was called 'The Prideful Stay'. Because nobody… Ever leaves…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

I never once thought I was special. Nor have I thought anyone is special. Being special can only be decided on those who truly knows who you really are. And that's who and what I am today.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** **(Dead and Alive)** After being stuck in 'The Prideful Stay', Max regroups with the Flock as he discovers the history of Vulper Island. And what comes next, an unexpected help arrives.

* * *

 **A/N:** _It took me so long to write this. This is definitely the first for me to write a 21-page long chapter with over 10,000 words. But I had fun. I just love writing fight scenes after all. A friend of mine is making a cover for this fanfiction and I can't wait to put it on. Also, as always, if you feel like you want your OC to appear, be my guest. Write it in the reviews on PM me. It doesn't matter. On to the next chapter now._

The characters:  
 ** _Flock:_**

Sebestian Wright – An ex-military buck deer. Leader of the Flock and was known to be a street fighter in his old days. A professional with pistols especially with the Desert Eagle.

Daniel Rodriguez (belongs to Frost8423) – An ex-military arctic male wolf. Sebestian Wright's old partner in the military. Both retired together and joined the Flock with Rodriguez as Wright's righthand mammal. A very excellent sniper and always carries his personal AWP.

Jeremy Wolshire – A black wolf. Traitor to the Flock when looking for a Hunter. Killed fellow Flock member, Max Volkov and joins the Hunter only to meet his demise at the last second.

Elias Vulperus (belongs to Elias Nick) – Status: Deceased. A fox and an expert tracker with good senses. Died by the betrayal of a fellow Flock member, named Jeremy.

Stephen Germain – A black goat with curved horns leading backward. An ex-loan shark from Vulper Island. He joined the Flock desperately because he heard the pay was good. Very smart for making gadgets that comes in handy like the portable electricity cable. Always carries a Kel-Tec KSG shotgun.

Joanne Germain – A white goat with horns shaped like a capricorn's. Stephen's younger sister and a kindergarten teacher. Due to the kindergarten needing repairs, she joins the Flock after hearing it from her brother. Very skilled in close combat and always wear safety gears underneath her clothes. She usually carries modified kerambit knives with her that has steel pellets on the knuckles in case she needs to punch.

Aoi (belongs to a guest user) – A ferret who suffered from amnesia 4 years before he joined the Flock. Was trained under the ornization who created the Flock and was taught on how to use Sabre Blades that was recovered from a Hunter that was killed before. He only joins them because he wants a family. Stephen calls him blue because 'Aoi' means blue in Japanese.

 ** _Fangers:_**

Obadiah Fanger – Max and Angel's blood-related uncle and older brother of Ezekiel Fanger. A retired Hunter and owner of motorcyle now known as Theta. Now runs a motel which rarely has any customers.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I had a blast writing them. I want to add more of your OCs as thanks. Hope to see you all soon in the next chapter._


	4. Dead and Alive

**A/N:** _Aaaaaaand here's chapter 4. Or should I call it, Chapter D? Meh. Also, I edited last chapter due to some errors. Stephen calls Aoi 'Blue' as a nickname, by the way. That was all I changed._

 **Disclaimer:** _Zootopia belongs to Disney but the characters are mine. There are some that belong to some others. Will leave credit at the bottom._

 **Last chapter** **(Child of Promise):** _After meeting his uncle, Obadiah, Max learns of his role in his life. However, the Flock faces trouble at an apartment called the Prideful Stay. Max helps them only to be surrounded by a pride of lioness with the king gone. What will they do now? Later, an unexpected help arrives._

* * *

After realizing they were stepping into the home of a pride of lions, the Flock and Max ran back into the room where they exited earlier as the lionesses make their way to prey on them. They shot some of them dead on the head while the rest still kept chasing them as if they didn't feel anything.

"Stephen!" Wright called as the group held the door shut. "Get those livewires out!"

The black goat heard his order and quickly brought out plenty of wires and stuck them on the entrance from top to bottom, making sure the entrance is dangerously guarded for them. They released the door and quickly pass through it but the door slammed opened and one of them bit Max on the shoulder.

He screamed in pain and penetrated his three top claw blades into the skull and push the fresh carcass back into the pride to slow them down before jumping through the wire.

Stephen turned the device on and sparks were seen made on them. One of the lionesses touched it and backed off the moment she felt the shock. The pride roared in frustration, trying to find a way past the electric wires.

"Barricade with everything!" Wright ordered. The group took every furnitures they could find. Dining chairs, tables, cabinets, the wooden couch and even the bed sack just to be extra safe. Max even helped while Aoi just leaned back on the wall, still recovering.

The Flock raised their weapons at the barricade just in case. "We got enough time…" the buck said. "Check to see if everyone still has enough ammos. And be sure to prepare guns. No close combat. For now…"

Only Joanne nodded since she was the one mostly prefered to fight up close. The barricade didn't budge but they could hear cries of pain behind it probably due to the pride being electrified. Not the slightest gap can be seen through those barricades.

Max laid next to Aoi and disengaged his blades before resting. He breathed heavily and looked at his new wound that was on the shoulder. It wasn't serious so he wasn't worried much.

Wright then pulled out his phone and made a call.

"We're in a pitch here…" he said, lowering his guns. "We'll be stuck here for a while…" A slight pause probably because the other end was talking next. "Alright… We'll wait for the plan…" And with that, he hung up. He turned to the group. "We're hold up here for a while. They'll be back with something…"

Max breathed heavily, leaning his head back with a sigh. Aoi glanced over at him with a worried look. He then reached for something from his jacket. It was a wrap-up chicken burger. He split it into two and then handed one to the fox.

"Here," he said with a smile.

Max looked at it, hesitating.

"What's wrong?" Stephen said. "Don't have an appetite? I'd rather have you eat that than me." He then laughed, signifying it as a joke.

Max stared at the black goat with a frown but was blocked by the burger.

"Don't mind him," Aoi said. "Just take it."

The red fur predator looked from the burger to the ferret and eventually accepted it. He removed his mask and nodded. "Thank you…" he said. He took a bite shyly along with the injured ferret whose mood has been improved by his company.

The deer walked towards the new face. "Why are you helping us?" he asked, looking down at the resting fox.

Max looked up and shoved the rest of the burger in his mouth and swallowed before speaking. "I didn't," he said. "It was just pure coincidence that you guys were here. When I heard all the commotion upstairs, I didn't think that I'll be welcomed. You guys fucked up my plan."

"Your plan?"

Max raised his head up a bit. "I'm a Fanger. I could have played as a fellow relative with him and killed him easily."

Everyone was left at silence as they looked at each other. "You're a Fanger?" Wright continued.

"I just found out two days ago. I was abandoned when I was still a baby. So I had no idea."

"What does a Fanger have to do with the Hunters?"

Max looked at them in confusion. "Hunters? Don't you call them Fangers?"

"The Fangers are the ones that own this island…" Joanne interrupted. "You mean to say…?"

The fox's eyes was left wide. "What…?"

Wright sighed. "In other words, Vulper Island belongs to the Fangers. But that's not the point right now."

Max was left in shock. No wonder no one bothered to come straight to their house. Because their names were covered by the Hunters, no one suspected a thing.

"So," Wright went on. "Just how are you related to Mayor Ezekiel?"

Max shifted his sight towards the buck in surprise. "Mayor…?" Now he understood why mammals say the Fangers were famous. They not only own the island, but ruled it as well. Almost as if the whole island was their own personal livestock. The fox turned back to the leader. "He's my father…" he answered as truthful as he can.

"Adopted?"

Max shook his head. "Blood-related… At least, that's what he said I was… The proof was that I have a sister too and she didn't seem to lie about him being my father…"

Silence at first but then Wright snickered. "The Fangers really are a weird family… First the vixen and then the next thing we knew, the Mayor marries a wolf. I guess species don't matter anymore, huh?"

Max's ears twitched. "Did you say… Vixen…?" He stood up, taking a step forward. "As in… Ezekiel's ex-wife?"

"Well, I believe you might be his son, since he has a fox daughter too, mainly because his wife… Er, ex-wife, IS a fox. Now that I think about it…" Wright turned to his team. "Didn't the Mayor reported his ex-wife and son went missing?"

"That was 20 years ago though…" Rodriguez said, checking for any damage on his sniper rifle.

Wright turned back to the fox and observed him. "He looks old enough to me. So it means, we just completed one of our jobs. Looks like we're getting extra cash for this."

Joanne and Stephen looked at each other and smiled with nods.

"You guys… Do this for money?"

"Huh?" Joanne responded. "Why else would we do it?"

"No way in Hell anyone does this for any other reason right?" Stephen asked.

The goats were right which left Max speechless for a while. And just as he was lost for words, Aoi tugged on the sleeve of his hoodie.

"Hey… What's your name?" asked the ferret.

Silence at first as he looked for an answer. He was struggling whether to go for his real name or for his new name. He eventually made up his mind. He decided on both.

"From what Ezekiel said, my real name is Theodore Soterios Fanger. But… I would prefer the name that I've been living with all these years. Max Haff Zero." He pulled out a paw, indicating to shake. "Nice to meet you."

The deer looked at his claws. They were unbelievably sharp. He frowned a bit due to hesitation, but he shook paws with him eventually. "Sebestian Wright," he replied. "Likewise." And then he pointed to his team. "That's Daniel Rodriguez. Stephen and Joanne Germain. And…" He pointed to the ferret. "Aoi. Our top hunter. Unlike us, he just likes to be with us. He's not here for money."

"He seemed rather skilled with the Sabre Blades."

"That's because HERD trained him. He was abandoned and they found him. And eventually was put into this team."

Max looked at the ferret who was sitting down, waving at him with an innocent smile. He nodded back in respond before facing the one in charge. "HERD?"

"They're the ones who made this group. We just track down the Hunters and then kill them. They handle the rest. Like cleaning and alibis. All that. The one in charge is this kid's adopted mother, Natanya Jelavic. She took him in and trained him in combat with some specialists. That includes our job."

Max looked at the ferret with pitiful eyes and sighed. "Must be bad for him…"

The room stood with silence as the group waited for a call for HQ known as the HERD.

"Ezekiel Fanger…" Wright said softly with a deep voice. "Who would have fucking thought…?" He turned to Max. "By any chance, that night… Was that him?"

He knew what the deer was talking about. The night where they all met. Max nodded.

And just where things were getting heavy, a beep was heard through a cellphone in the deer's pocket. He picked it up and answered. "Well?" he said.

We now move on the HQ of HERD. "We are providing backup right now," said a female panther, talking to the phone. "The extermination MUST continue."

" _Don't fucking bullshit me, panther…_ " Wright's voice was heard on the other end. " _There's no way any of us are dying out there to be fresh meat._ "

"You won't have to worry about it. We're almost done with the preparations and are moving out now. However, the real backup will have to wait. In the meantime, try and survive. We'll bring more ammos and food for Aoi."

A sighed could be heard on the other side. " _Understood…_ " he said. There was a slight pause for a few seconds. " _Bring extra. We… Got a newcomer… And he might need it._ "

"A newcomer?"

" _Someone claiming to be Theodore Fanger. You know? The mayor's lost son?_ "

The panther froze. "What? As in, the baby kit that was lost 20 years ago?"

" _That's the guy. He says that the mayor is involved with the Hunters. I definitely think it's worth checking to see if it's legit._ "

"We will look into it."

" _Also…_ " There was another pause for a moment. " _We'll continue under one condition._ "

The panther took a deep breath, her tail moving left and right slowly. "And what is that?" she asked.

" _We want our pay doubled. For every Hunter we kill, double the amount. That includes the main target. We earn this. For staying far too long already._ "

"Very well then," she answered without hesitating. "It will be done once the job is done."

" _Nice doing business with you, as always…_ "

After the call was hung up, the panther put the phone down and massaged her temples with a frown.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" said a male jackal in a suit who was carrying a suitcase and standing behind her in a proper manner.

"Not at all," she said. "This is good for our test. Prepare the money for our exterminators. And get the backup team ready."

"Of course," said the jackal with a bow. "However, Subject V is still being checked if he is able to properly obey."

"Then send the backup first. There's no need to rush on him." She sat back down on her seat before looking at the jackal. "Otto. Do you think you can check in details about a certain mammal? He was once a lost child. Apparently he was found. Theodore Fanger. And please bring the mayor in."

The standing predator bowed. "Of course, ma'am," he said. He turned around and head out to the door.

After the secretary left the room, the panther spun her chair facing the window, looking outside at the plain fields. "Theodore Fanger…" she said to herself, placing a finger on her chin. "Where on earth did he disappear to all these years…?"

Returning back to the Flock, the buck put his cellphone away and sighed. He faced his teammates. "Looks like our paid is doubled if we continue," he said. "Each Hunter down, we get a bonus."

They looked at each other with a smile especially Stephen. "Doubled for every Hunter…?" he said to himself. "I can finally have those debts paid…"

Max looked at the group. "You guys can keep the money," he said, standing up. "I have my own reasons to hunt these guys down." But as soon as he finished talking, Max dropped to his knees and gritted his teeth, grabbing his stomach. He groaned.

"Hey!" Stephen called. "You okay?!"

The fox bit his lips. "What the fuck…?" he commented. "I'm so hungry… I even had a whole chicken for breakfast…"

"Rest ease, kid," Wright said. "We asked for some extra. So Aoi and you should have more than enough to continue."

Aoi nodded. "I'm getting hungry too."

Max answered with silence, beginning to shake almost as if he can't wait that long.

The deer sighed. "Or…" His pause brought the predator to look at him. "Would you rather eat that?" He tilted his head to point at a goat's head in the fridge that Rodriguez found earlier.

Max frowned which intimidated the prey a bit.

"Just kidding…" he said.

 **Meanwhile…**

 _(You all may not know or maybe forgotten, probably because you've never read Trust Issues nor Under One Rood, but Sophie is a school teacher. I forgotten to write that she was now a teacher in the school of where she and Max use to study back when they were kids. Just to let you all know.)_

Sophie was neatly arranging the papers of her reports on the class she was assigned to. It was noon and the school was on lunch break. While the sounds of multiple footsteps were echoing down the hallway, the teachers lounge was rather quiet. RATHER quiet. It was still a bit noisy since some of the teachers were on break as well.

The jill however was part of the quiet ones, sorting out quiz papers, arranging files of student records and all that kind of stuff. She was really keeping her mind occupied with the time she was having. Though, it was because a certain someone won't leave her mind which gave her a rather busy schedule.

She wasn't trying to forget about him, but more like, preparing for his return so she could be a better and hardworking wife.

"You're looking awfully busy lately, Miss Glace," said someone behind her while she was putting the files on the shelves. She turned around to meet a female rabbit who was the class rep of her homeroom.

She smiled. "Well… I'm about to get married after all…" she said with a smile. "I need to be able to hold out when it comes to work. And I'm sure it'll be a very a noisy family too." She can't help but laugh at that thought with the young rabbit. "Can I help you with anything, Jenny?"

The rabbit known as Jenny then placed a stack of books on the table. "Just bringing you the homeworks the whole class handed in," she said, placing her wrists on her hips. "I noticed most of the boys have the same answers." She leaned closer and cupped her mouth with one paw. "I think they may be copying from each other."

The hare laughed. "Well, it should be easy work then," she said. "I'll make sure there'll be consequences." She then pinched her thumb and index finger. "Lightly that is."

The rabbit nodded. "Then, I'll be off for lunch then." She waved at her teacher with a smile and left the lounge.

Sophie sighed and looked at the books. Class 4-C. The same class she and Max used to be. She smiled and looked out the window. " _I hope you're okay, Max…_ " she thought.

As noon slowly past by, Max was napping quietly while waiting for something to happen. He didn't move from his spot next to Aoi and dozed off earlier from hunger. He eventually woke up after he heard a beep. He looked up to see the leader answering his call.

"Got it," said Wright, before putting his cellphone away. "Backup is here. But problem is… We have to go all the way down to get the stuff…"

"Of course…" Joanne said with her frustration building up.

Max shook his head and stood up along with Aoi who was also resting earlier.

"Are you okay?" the ferret asked.

"Yea…" Max said, adjusting his braces and hooked his mask firmly to his cargo pants.

"Who's Sophie?"

The fox froze and looked at Aoi.

"You were calling that name while you were sleeping."

But no answer came out. He just shook his head. "It's nothing… Let's get to backup first…"

"Stephen, prepare a nade," Wright ordered. "Rodriguez, you know what to do."

The arctic wolf didn't say anything but nodded as he understood.

The furniture was still being pushed from the other side and managed to budge during the time that has passed. Stephen rolled the grenade from under the barricade and backed away. Rodriguez placed his sights into the scope and zoomed into a gap that was recently made through the barricade. The nade rolled perfectly on sight and he shot his weapon, blowing up from outside. The blast sent a few lionesses flying and it broke down the barricade and the electric wires.

"Push forward!" Wright ordered taking the lead.

As the team make their way down to the ground floor, the backup was at the lobby, waiting for their arrival. The sound of running footsteps make their way down the stairs and the Flock managed to arrive without getting hurt.

"Took you long enough," Wright said.

The backup was a group of three preys. All gazelles in grey uniform. "We got enough food," said one who was carrying a backpack. He placed it down and unzipped the bag, bringing out some wrapped burgers. He passed it to Aoi and the ferret began chomping down to the sandwich as the other team loaded up.

Max looked at the predator eating and gulped. He couldn't resist. He needed to eat. But before he could grab one, the other gazelle passed one to him.

"You must be the newcomer," he said. "There's no time."

Max looked at him in silence and accepted it, eating it as fast as he can. He and Aoi choked a little while chewing but luckily there was water to help them swallow. There were ten burgers inside but the predators only managed to finish five, two for Max and three for Aoi.

And just when they were filling up, the elevator let out a ding and several lionesses began walking towards their targets.

Max saw this and quickly wipe his mouth with his sleeves and put his mask back on. He drew out his blades with Aoi behind him who did the same. The fox began the first strike by cutting the one in the lead on the stomach with the ferret following it up by cutting her in the neck with the blades on his claws.

One of the lioness tried to attack Max from behind but Aoi grabbed ahold of her arm and Max sliced it off from her torso and cut her from the back, seperating the bones from her spine. Another slashed Max from behind and got him. He yelled in pain but followed up with Aoi kicking her off and sent multiple blade penetrations into her chest repeatedly.

As the ferret was doing so, two more made their way towards him but the fox jumped and stepped on the two female predators. He wasted no time and shoved his claw blades through each of their foreheads, destroying their brains.

"I'll kill all of you!" he said in a sinister tone at the two new carcasses before pulling his claws back.

The team could only stare at his savagery. He turned around and breathed heavily.

"That's a little too extreme, don't you think…?" Stephen asked with a wry smile.

The fox looked back at his latest victims. "Sorry…" he said. Later afterwards, the elevator dinged again and another group appear.

The Flock quickly shot all of them down, leaving the elevator with fresh red stains and a terrible odour.

"We need to get upstairs!" said one of them from the backup.

"Why?!" Wright demanded.

"Their leader is on the roof. We kill him, they wouldn't know what to do."

"Like a pride of lions in ancient times…" Max said. "No king, means no order."

The buck hesitated for a while and sighed. "Looks like we got no choice, huh…?" he said. "Fine then. But I doubt the elevator will be safe…"

Speaking of the devil, the other elevator next to the one used before opened up and another group appears again. Max and Aoi quickly blocked their way, buying the group some time to get to the roof.

"Go!" Max yelled. "We'll hold them off!" He shoved his blades into their heads several times, but there were too many that he was getting hurt, trying to endure them clawing him and Aoi.

As the two predators held onto the elevator, the Flock make their way up the stairs. Each floor just brought new Hunters into play. The only thing they could do was slash, shoot and shove them away. Some died and some didn't.

While stopping on one of the floor to get rid of some of the lionesses, the emergency door opened and two of the Hunters managed to grabbed two of the gazelles from the backup, dragging them away after biting into their necks.

The team could only hear their screams on the other side of the door and Rodriguez quickly held onto the knob, preventing anymore from interfering.

"Get going…" Wright said hesitantly. Everyone nodded and followed. Max and Aoi eventually caught up to them and killed any lionesses that they came across from the group.

However, Rodriguez didn't move. He just held onto the doorknob tight. Stephen patted on his back. "Dan, let's go!" he said.

The wolf shook his head. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I can handle myself. I need a livewire."

The goat looked up to see the team going higher already and gave the wolf a set of wires before heading upstairs. The wolf then placed the wires leading to upstairs and got behind it before pulling out his glock and began shooting at the oncoming pride as the team make their way to the roof.

While the arctic wolf held the pride back, the Flock and Max progressed forward. However, before they could make it to the roof, the entrance was heavily blocked by several other lionesses. Max pushed them back with his side blades but the whole pride held him back.

Wright then opened the emergency door to the floor they were at. "Over here!" he yelled.

"Go!" Max yelled back, holding the pride back as the team head to the other route.

Aoi took the lead and began rushing towards any incoming enemies and stabbed every one of them on the chest. However, some were just wounded but just enough for the group to get pass. While Aoi was busy fighting off one of the lioness, Joanne took the lead this time and kept slashing any incoming attacks. Max joined the fray to help Aoi to quicken the battle while Stephen covered their backs with his shotgun along with the leader and the remaining gazelle from backup.

One tried to claw Max but he deflected the attack away and pushed the enemy off the railing, falling to her death. Another appeared but this time Joanne was the one covered for him after using his back as a stepping stool and shoved her knives into their eyeballs.

"This way!" she yelled to the group, taking the lead, heading to the next flight of stairs. And as she turned to the corner, a lioness grabbed her and chewed her thighs. She screamed in pain as the teeth sank into her skin.

"Joanne!" Stephen called out to his sister.

But she didn't reply back and stabbed the lioness with her knives on the back of the head, pulling the head back from her and kicking off the carcass down the stairs. She grabbed onto the railing of the stairs and held her leg which was now wounded.

The team rushed to her. She breathed heavily and smiled with a hint of agony. "I'm fine…" she said. "I can hold it in…"

Aoi stared at her wound and his face showed a deep impression of worry.

Joanne smiled at him. "Don't worry about me," she said. "Just do the job…"

The ferret shook his head in respond with gritted teeth.

"Get going already!" she ordered, shoving the worried predator up the stairs.

Silence was standing for a moment until the leader spoke up.

"Let's go, Aoi," he said.

Stephen patted him on the back. "Come on, Blue," he said.

But Aoi declined that order and went back for Joanne. He trembled in fear. Not because of not listening for the first time. But because he was afraid of losing another teammate.

"I…" he started. "I have to help, Joanne! I… I don't wanna lose anyone anymore…"

The team stared at him for a moment until Wright clicked his tongue. "It can't be help…" he said. He turned to Max. "Looks like we DO need your help after all…"

Max looked at the leader and nodded. He faced Aoi back. "Take care of yourself, Aoi," he said before heading up for the roof.

Aoi nodded and began to take his stance with Joanne.

The white goat chuckled. "You really want a family that much, huh…?" she commented, raising her knives.

Aoi didn't say anything. He just stood in front of her, preparing to do his utmost best to defend her from the incoming wave.

The team made it to the entrance of the roof. Max went in first just in case for any oncoming attack. But as they did, it was quiet. Max opened the door and the team rushed inside to find the pride all in position with the main target in the front, now wearing a mask that resembles the mandibles of an insect.

The pride growled at their enemies.

"All we gotta do is kill the leader, right?" Wright repeated.

The gazelle paused for a moment and nodded, while raising his assault rifle. "Yes. That was the order."

"Can we count on you?" Wright asked directly towards the fox.

Max looked back and nodded. He faced the pride of lions and unleashed the blades on his braces. The team began flanking, making sure to cover him so he can personally take the leader down.

He took a battle stance and a deep breath before springing forward. But the king kicked him on his ribs, planting the fox down. Two lionesses came from behind to distract the fox. Max punched the two down easily but as he was about to strike down the leader, the target kicked his fist away and push him back while one of the two lionesses grabbed Max from behind.

Max used all his strength and pulled the lioness forward, making her roll on her back before trying to land a hit on the king with a kick. But the lion grabbed his legs and stomp on his other leg in the knee and left him there while the lionesses hungrily crawled towards the young predator.

The Flock made sure to lessened down the enemy and eventually, all eyes were on the fox. "Is he always that weak?" Wright asked, witnessing Max being stomped by the king like dirt.

"More like… The big guy's the one getting stronger," Stephen answered. "Don't tell me he just ate."

If only they knew… That the two gazelles from backup earlier that fell victim to the pride were the last meal the king had…

While being distracted at the weak fox, one of the lionesses plunged forward, trying to take a bite out of the black goat. He struggled to breach free. The other two were about to shoot but were too busy on their side. Somehow, the wave was endless. As they fought, the lioness pinned Stephen down, drooling on his face in starvation.

Max saw this and got up to his feet quickly, running towards the helpless prey and kicked the predator off of him like a football, sending her crashing to the railing. "Back up!" he ordered, before he was caught from the back by the pride. The lionesses held him down and the leader of the pride grabbed him by the ankle and dragged his body easily.

Max squirmed to shake him off but didn't work. The lion then tried stomping on the fox but he quickly rolled out of harm's way and kicked him in the ribs. This time, with no effect. However, because of the kick, the fox managed to get some distance from the target.

The lion roared in frustration.

And just when things were getting intense… The door to the other entrance opened.

Everyone set their eyes on the opened door. Footsteps were heard slowly coming out. It was an adult male red fox who was wearing Sabre Blades on both his arms. He was wearing a grey suit. Jacket buttoned half way with the tie in the open.

Wright, Stephen and Max were more than surprise to see this predator.

Because he was supposedly dead and buried yesterday.

There, standing at the entrance, was an old member of Flock, known as Elias Vulperus.

"Vulperus…?" Wright and Stephen said in unison.

Max only stared.

The fox, known as Vulperus, stared at the pride with an emotionless face. His eyes cold as the dead and his expression unchanging. He clenched his fists and the blades drew out. They were the same brown leathered ones that Jeremy, one of the Hunters, used.

"Target confirmed…" said Vulperus. "Commencing extermination."

He ran towards his main target but was blocked by the pride. But he leapt forward over the pride and managed to lay a hit on the lion in the face with a punch.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Wright asked.

"That's the main backup," the gazelle from the backup said.

The buck and goat faced him. "What?" Wright asked again.

"Exterminate now, answers later." The two hesitantly followed the order and did so.

Max was more of a disbelief. He was just watching the presumably dead Vulperus working on the target. But… Somehow… Something about the predator didn't feel right.

As he was distracted in thoughts, the pride didn't forget about him and grabbed him from behind.

Max, quick to realize this, fought back with everything he's got. But… The numbers were too much for him. So many that they held him by the ankles and hanged him upside down as they pummeled him brutally. And then tossed him to the railing, damaging it in the process.

Max breathed heavily and coughed a little. He was getting hungry again. It was almost as if food was his only fuel and he was a working machine. He grabbed ahold of his stomach again, seeing the backpack that was left behind by the gazelle earlier. He crawled desperately to it to find at least one burger in there. But before he could reach it, the pride pulled him back and shoved him away as they rummage into the backpack to find what he was looking for.

His mask was removed in the process as he was rolling out of the way by the tug. As he recovered his vision, he watched them eat the sandwiches and clenched his stomach some more. "Fuck!" he yelled. "Why am I so hungry?!" He slammed his fist on the floor as he breathed slowly.

He was slowly losing his mind. Almost as if he could just eat anything now. Or… Eat anyone instead…

He looked at the pride that attacked him earlier in anger. The rage within him built up the more he watched them eat the meal. His breathing became quick paced and deeper.

His claws tugged onto the floor as his fur stood up. His pupils dilated into a vertical line. And in an instant, he leapt forward and planted himself on one of their backs, biting her on the neck and tearing off her skin. He could taste it… Blood… The pride got him off but he kept charging forward without any thought. Using his side blades, he cut off all of their legs below the knees as the fell to the floor in pain.

He screamed in the air in starvation and began tearing their limbs one by one with his mouth and sometimes would open up the stomachs with his own claws rather than the braces.

He then looked at the damaged railing where he crashed into earlier and removed the top part, turning it into a spear and plunged into three lionesses' heads in a row that were going after Stephen. The spear was penetrated through the wall with the three carcasses and Stephen looked at the one who caused it in surprise.

Max then grabbed two lionesses by the shoulders who were aiming for the gazelle and pulled them off him, sending them flying back. He stomped on one of their heads repeatedly until the skull was heard broken and a little piece of the brain was scattered.

Seeing his violence, the other lioness tried crawling away but Max grabbed her by the back of her neck hard. He sank his claws into her skin as deep and hard as he can as his victim screamed for mercy. His claws went in so deep into her neck that he could feel her spine with his fingers. Then, grabbing the spine, he pulled her entire spine out of her body as if he was nothing while screaming in anger.

And another came to attack but with his now enhanced senses, the fox shoved both his paws through the attacker's stomach and then using his side blades, cut the predator in half vertically. Max's outfit was covered in a bloody mess and he screamed again as if he was marking his territory.

Everyone, including Vulperus, witness the level of fatality that he has given.

"What the fuck is up with that?!" Wright said. "Hunter or not, that's on a totally different level!"

The other preys regroup as they watched the fox fight on. Though, it wasn't a fight anymore. It was a massacre. And yet, the Hunters were now the prey by the savage beast. The only thing he aimed for was cutting off as many limbs as possible on every attacker he sees. He would go to the extend to stab them in the face then dragged his blades down, tearing the body from head to stomach without any mercy. Because of this, the pride was getting smaller and smaller now even though the numbers were endless. It was getting smaller because of the fear they were currently possessing from witnessing the savage predator butchering them one by one.

"Are you seeing this?" Vulperus said to himself, observing the predator as the lion tried to make his escape.

Max then turned towards the king with gritted teeth and menacing eyes. "You're not getting away!" he claimed. He grabbed the railing pole that he was using as a spear earlier and run towards the limping lion. But before he could escape, the fox grabbed him by the mane and made him face him with his knees on the floor.

The lion's eyes widened as he looked into the fox's. It may not be shown because of the mask, but his eyes were obviously showing the feeling of fear.

"Y… You… You're…!" Before he could finish his sentence, Max impaled the spear down the lion's throat so deep that the other end of the spear was hammered to the floor through his body. The lion was still alive, despite being spit roasted. But was unable to even do anything anymore as he was about to meet his end.

And with one last swing of his arm back, Max cut off the lion's head with his side blades. Not only did he cut the lion's head off, but even the pole that was down his throat was cut clean. The carcass was still left there with blood spraying out like a fountain, showering the fox in redness from head to toe as the king's head along with the other half of the pole in his mouth rolled to the floor.

Max clenched his fists and looked up in the sky, screaming one more time, signifying his victory.

Everyone in the apartment heard this. The pride began to scatter in a panic after the death of their king.

It wasn't long after the whole pride was wiped out by the Flock. Because they had no leader anymore, the lionesses were lost and eventually were at their wits end. They were truly like animals in the ancient times.

Vulperus stood there, looking at the blood-covered fox attentively. "Understood," he said to himself.

Soon after… The whole apartment was cleared from Hunters. The Flock investigated every room to find dead preys in every room. It looked like they were using the apartment as a brothel to attract male preys so they could eat them. Sometimes they would even send some to their king since he was the one that planned all this. All the identies of every carcass they found were confirmed, however, the missing ones were confirmed eaten and they ruled out anyone that wasn't checked of the identification process.

After the extermination, the team were at their van, treating their wounds or taking a rest while the clean up crew from HERD did their best to cover up the scene.

Max was sitting next to Theta, his new motorcyle, taking a breather. He was still covered in blood but only his face was wiped clean. He stared blankly at the ground while holding onto his mask. Vulperus just stared at him blankly, as if he was recording everything into his brain.

But he was interrupted when someone pulled him to face them. It was the buck, Wright.

The deer looked at the standing fox carcass. "We thought you were gone…" he said.

But Vulperus said nothing and turned his attention back to the newcomer. "That fox, is the mayor's son?" he asked.

"It's what he claims," he answered. "But we need to do an identity check first."

There was something off with Vulperus. Something strange. He hasn't blink at all so far after his appearance. And Wright noticed this. He began to go straight to the point. "How are you alive? There's no way you would survive that."

The quiet and emotionless fox looked at the savage fox for a while before facing the leader. "I didn't," he said. "HERD is using me."

Everyone in the Flock froze. They were all paying attention to their revived comrade.

"I am already dead," Vulperus continued on. "But was brought back." He pointed in his brain. "As long as my brain is there, I can be conscious any time they want me to. Of course, I won't be able to heal. Nor will I bleed. My brain is just holding out."

Everyone was at silence hearing this.

"So in other words…" Max said softly, turning to the group. "You have no heart anymore…"

"Of course, I do. My arteries are the only ones where blood will flow. From the heart to the brain."

Max shook his head in disappointment. "I mean… You have no feelings…"

"Those are not necessary. I am still alive."

"You're dead…" Max stood up. "Once someone dies, they need to find peace. To be brought back to life against their own will… You are going against nature…"

"My life was also taken away against my own will. Therefore it is an invalid argument."

The two predators stared at each other down. One with skepticisim and the other with no thoughts whatsoever.

"In any case," Aoi interrupted. "It's great that you're back, Elias." The ferret smile at his revived comrade.

However, Elias' sight did not leave the Max's.

"What about Ezekiel Fanger?" Wright asked.

"He is currently in HQ," Vulperus answered. "However, the rest of the family members' whereabouts are unknown."

After hearing this, Max got on his bike and put his helmet on.

"Where're you headed?" Wright asked.

"Nowhere but anywhere…" Max answered. Which was a lie. With that said, he rode off after leaving the area.

Once again, the undead fox's vision never left Max's presence. Until he was unable to be seen, Vulperus turned to his team. "President Jelavic told me that I return to you as a member of Flock again. However, I won't receive any payment and it will split for all of you."

Everyone smiled. Everyone but Sebestian Wright. For some reason, something was wrong with Vulperus. Max, before he left, felt the same thing as well. And the real reason why he left the scene before them was because of his own reason.

Elias Vulperus is not dead but alive. He was dead AND alive. But because of this, it left the fox into a confusing state that he can't decide whether to trust him or not. Or more like… The ones behind his 'revival' was the real problem…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

The meaning of life is many. Each life, means different individuals. We all have different dreams therefore we all have different meaning to our lives. But we all die eventually. A different beginning, but same ending.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** **(Exceptional Targets)** With how things are heating up, Ezekiel was being held captive by the HERD with his family's location unknown. And it seemed that the Hunters are coming to an end. What happens next is something Max was determined to solve himself.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, that's the end of Chapter D. Chapter B to D have been updated due to some personal affairs that I had.

Now I'm sure you're all rather annoyed that I brought back a dead character to life. First of, I was inspired to write this chapter because of the Revival Organism Experiment that was held in Russia in 1940. They actually brought a dead dog to life and the most amazing part was that the dog was only left with a head. The dog was still conscious, but could not feel nor think. But was still able to react through reflex. If you don't believe me, check it out yourself. It IS possible to bring someone back to life. However, that experiment was called off because men were going against nature.

The more you know.

Anyway, as always, if you have an OC in mind that you want to appear, write it in the reviews or PM me. See you all in Chapter E.

OCs that appear

Elias Vulperus belongs to Elias Nick

Daniel Rodriguez belongs to Frost8423

Natanya Jelavic partially belongs to guest user, otaku shoujo

Aoi belongs to an unknown guest user


	5. Exceptional Targets

**A/N:** _Chapter E over here. I apologize for the long delay. Due to some… Personal matters regarding someone's OC, I have to edit the story. I don't know if I've edited the whole thing though, but if you guys feel like rereading the previous chapters and look through it, I would be grateful. Remember: '_ Feel _' like rereading. So it's not necessary if you don't want to._

 _Anyway, I'm sure you all know about this character named Max Volkov-Patterson. He has been completely replaced by a fox named Elias Vulperus (owned by Elias Nick). So, please be aware of this. I'm pretty sure some of you will be confused and be like, "Who the fuck is this Elias? And where did he even come from?" Well, I already explained it. Moving on._

 _Because of this problem, I have to rewrite my manuscripts on what will happen in the story next. I always tend to write summarizations of chapters BEFORE I write my stories. Since there have been complications recently, I have to change the story and that was why. Okay, I got nothing else to say._

 **Disclaimer:** _Zootopia belongs to Disney but the characters are mine. There are some that belong to some others. Will leave credit at the bottom._

 **Last chapter** **(Dead and Alive):** _After what happened in the Prideful Stay, we focus on the Flock's perspective for this chapter as a dead comrade of theirs have returned. From the dead that is. His personality, his goal, and his emotions are not as they remembered._

* * *

HERD HQ, unknown location… With the case at the Prideful Stay solved, we move on to a research facility in HERD. There, unconscious, was a tiger, shirtless and was covered with tubes and heartbeating sensors. Scientists were collecting blood samples from him and testing it as he lay there without moving a muscle.

And on the other side of the room, a female panther and a male jackal that was carrying a suitcase, both in suits, were watching the test in progress.

"Don't forget to run an MRI and collect his skin samples," ordered the panther to the other side. "And keep searching for his other family members as well."

" _Yes, ma'am_ ," answered someone through a speaker.

A short silence commenced as they watched the test went on. Then the panther spoke up. "Otto," she called. "Have you find anything regarding Theodore Fanger?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, bowing his head slightly. "It is as you said. The child was reported lost 20 years ago. It was 1 week after his birth. But he wasn't the only one. A female fox named Marilyn was also missing on that day."

"And she is…?"

"His mother. In other words, Mayor Ezekiel's ex-wife before he married the governor's daughter."

The panther looked at the tiger and sighed. "Just what exactly were they thinking…?" she said to herself. "Eating preys as if we're still primitive…"

"Shall I have that look as well, ma'am?"

She thought for a while and shook her head. "Not yet… I would like to talk with the so-called lost son, Theodore. I want proof that it really is him at first. What did he say his name was?"

"Max Zero. From Zootopia."

"Zootopia?" She smirked. "Well, he should be living comfortably."

"Despite living there, his entire record has been wiped clean. And is currently working in YakDonald as a full-timer. Other than that, I have no other records but his school days as an elementary student."

She turned to the jackal swiftly. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "But this was what I found out. He was exiled along with his adopted parents to Canide Town due to an incident. The rest is a mystery. His life began recording a year ago after his return and migration here. Before that, he lived in a city called Los Horserus and nothing else. His occupation back there was still unknown but he was able to manage."

The panther placed a finger on her chin. "How interesting… Perhaps I would like to meet this, Max Zero. Not Theodore Fanger."

"Shall I go get him?"

She raised her paw. "Not now. As he is now, he deserves a break. After… What has happened…" She faced the tiger laying down on the counter still being tested. "That level of savagery… Was beyond even a primitive predator could have done… And I don't think he did it with any intention…"

The two continued to watch the scientists working on the unconscious tiger.

"How is Aoi doing?" she asked.

"Maria is with him currently. She even brought him food."

The panther sighed. "That cub always does this…. But regardless, she can take care of herself. Just make sure nothing happens between those two. Now."

"Understood, ma'am." The jackal took a bow and head out to Aoi's room to fulfill his duty.

The talk of Max's actions were becoming the subject of HERD. Everyone has witnessed the rage Max Zero has unleashed during the time on the roof at the Prideful Stay. He did not just exterminate the Hunters. And it wasn't a massacre and a slaughter taking place either. It was more like the fox himself was the personification of death because of how resourceful he was with his surroundings and the way he uses it to kill. Because of this, Flock has been rather careful of him lately. Everyone except Aoi who was in HERD to get his treatment.

While HERD was busy with the Mayor of Vulper Island, the base of the Flock has been rather quiet. They were all exhausted from what happened yesterday. And after receiving their payment, they decided to relax. All of them except for Vulperus who recently returned.

He was just standing at the corner, facing the wall with not a single word coming out. Not even blinking his eyes. He was also still wearing his suit and the Sabre Blades on his arms.

Stephen was eating some bread with some black coffee while reading a comic book. Rodriguez was reading a book while casually eating some peanuts. And Joanne was punching and kicking the punching bag. Even though it wasn't relaxing, it was to her. But their leader, Wright, the buck, was nowhere around.

It was quiet with nothing but the sound of Joanne's training taking place. Until the door to the front door opened.

"Welcome back," everyone said lazily, not turning to whoever it is that entered. Because they knew who it was anyway. It was their captain and he returned with a suitcase. The first thing he did was placed the bag on the ground and opened it up. Inside was a vial filled with yellowish liquid and a syringe.

The group turned to him.

"What's that, boss?" Stephen asked first with his mouth full of bread.

"Protein," the captain answered. Everyone froze. He was a deer after all. So what was he going to do with protein?

He injected the syringe from the bottom and extract it out from the vial, leaving it empty. He then walked towards Elias and jabbed him on the neck slowly, pressuring the liquid protein to enter the living carcass.

Elias didn't move nor blink even after being injected. The deer pulled out and nodded. "There…" he said. "That should do it."

Everyone in the room was left in confusion with silence.

The buck realized this and answered them anyway. "HERD told me to feed Vulperus this," he explained. "Once a day. Even though he doesn't need food or water, he still requires protein for his muscles to move."

Everyone nodded in silence after understanding that and went on with their business. Wright then kept the syringe and the vial in the suitcase and locked it tight. He walked to the couch and lied down, breathing out a heavy sigh to show his exhaustion.

"What a pain…" Joanne said after finishing her workout. She walked towards the small table and sat down, breathing heavily. "It would be easier if we could use that guy again… What was his name? Jiro?"

"Zero," the dead/living fox suddenly spoke up. "Max Haff Zero. Born unknown. But was raised in Zootopia."

"Eh? So the guy's from Zootopia?" Stephen said with a laugh. "For a city boy, he sure can be wild."

"Wild?" Rodriguez asked, still reading his book.

There was silence at first but Wright eventually gave in. "What Stephen and I saw at the roof… You don't know wanna know…"

"What happened?" Joanne asked.

"Max Zero slaughtered the entire pride on the roof," Vulperus answered after a short pause. "Even the king was butchered."

Everyone went quiet. Stephen has his head down while the other two looked at the standing dead fox who was still facing the wall. Wright clicked his tongue in disappointment and rubbed the back of his head.

"Vulperus…" he said. "I know you can't read the mood anymore, but obviously, they didn't need to know."

"They did not need to," Vulperus said, finally turning to his leader. "But they have the right to."

Again, nothing but silence. It was probably because everyone was tired of what has happened recently. They just don't have the strength to argue back. Wright then breathed out a sigh and grabbed a magazine. Ignoring the fox's reason, he placed the magazine on his face and decides to sleep it off.

The standing fox carcass returned back to his corner and faced the wall again until further instructions, whereas the other three could only stare at their leader.

"So Elias," Stephen called. "How is it that you're still moving? You said you were dead right?"

"As I have said before. As long as my brain is still active, then I am as well. However, the rest of my internal organs have already stopped functioning the moment I die."

"Then… What about your fighting skills? Your language? All that," Rodriguez asked, grabbit a peanut.

"It all depends on what my brain is left."

The three of them stared at each other before facing the fox. Rodriguez then spoke up first. "In other words… If your brain is damaged, you can't move?"

Vulperus stayed quiet. "I don't know about that…" he answered, sounding truthful as he can. With his words trailing off, the fox finally kept his mouth shut. He stood there, not blinking once and not interacting with them.

No one said a word until Stephen finally started one after he was done with his bread. "Well, it doesn't matter," he said with a smile. "Aoi looked happy about seeing you still able to help us. Same goes for me."

Vulperus said nothing and kept standing there without uttering a word. The silence in the room this time was awkward as it is. Stephen may say that, however, everyone, including him, didn't agree. They looked at their supposed dead ally. He looked to be in pain. As if he wanted it to end. His face showed no signs of emotion. His eyes displayed no sparks. He really was not alive anymore. But yet, he was able to communicate with them…

With the Flock having some problems on their own, we return to the nameless motel to where Max stayed during the night. Max once again stayed the night at that place after the incident yesterday. He was laying down in bed with his eyes closed, envisioning what happened yesterday but couldn't.

Instead, he saw something else.

There was a silhouette of of an animal locked in a cell and was chained on both his arms and his legs. He was growling. Banging the bars on the cage. And eventually screamed in the air, as if he was demanding to be released. There was nothing in the room but scratch marks left behind on the walls. The only thing that could be see are its yellow glowing eyes. And from the looks of it, it was a canine species. No… It was something else… His body shape was different. And his ears were not pointy like a canine. They were curvy.

Max frowned and squirmed in the nightmare and woke up immediately from it. He breathed heavily and looked left and right and then at the ceiling. He placed a paw on his forehead and sighed.

"What the fuck was that…?" he said to himself. He turned to his left to look at the clock. It was past 11am. He was sleeping since the evening yesterday after his 'visit' at the Prideful Stay. He didn't even had dinner nor the time to wash his clothes. However, the bed wasn't too bloody this time since he was sleeping with his hoodie off.

He closed his eyes once more but was interrupted by the knock on the door.

He groaned softly but didn't move. "Come in…" he said, as loudly and softly as he could.

The door opened and the one who entered was Angel. She smiled at him and lifted a paw up. "Morning," she said.

Max sat up straight and blinked. "You're okay…" he said.

"But daddy isn't," she said closing the door and then sat on his bed. "Some group took him while he was in his office."

"I know… I heard about it…"

Angel looked at him. "You wouldn't have anything to do about it, do you?"

"Of course, I do," he said without hesitating. "But… I wanna kill him myself. And hearing about it, HERD isn't gonna kill him. They'll probably interrogate him about the others. But I doubt he would say anything about us."

"HERD?"

"The group that took him in. I should know. I heard it first-hand."

Angel stood up in surprise. "You… Sold us out…?" she said, her paws tembling.

"In a way, yes… But…" He looked at his sister. "In truth, I wanted to kill you all myself."

She sighed in relief. "I would rather have you kill me instead…" she said.

Max looked down. "You… Really don't mind me killing you…? Even if it's right now…?"

She laughed and lifted his head up to face her. "No," she said, shaking her head with a smile. "At least I won't lose you in the end… That's all it matters…"

He looked at her carefully in the eyes. They weren't lying when she said that. He frowned in confusion. He could understand her about losing someone close to her. But… To have that person you love kill you as well was something he just could not understand. If this goes on, he won't be able to decide whether or not to kill her anymore. But he was still strong about killing the others. He just wasn't sure whether if he should kill _ALL_ of them now.

"Angel…" Max called. "I've been thinking…"

She looked at him carefully, letting him talk.

"Why do you care about me so much? I just don't understand that… I was lost a week after my birth. So… You barely even know me…"

She smiled. "You're family," she answered. "That's all it is. I've already lost two… But seeing one come back, I can never be more happy…"

Max rubbed the back of his head when another thought struck him. "How old are we apart, by the way?"

She giggled. "Believe it or not, 6 years."

Max's eyes widened and he sighed in awe. Judging from her appearance, she looked just as young as he was. Never judge a book by its cover apparently. "Sorry I asked," he said. "I know a female hates it when they're asked about their age."

She laughed and covered her mouth. "We're siblings. So you have the right to know."

For the first time after moving here, Max smiled. Something about her made him feel so comfortable. So welcome. Just like… Sophie… Sophie… His eyes widened as he remembered. "Is there a phone where I can call outside the island?" he asked.

Angel shook her head. "Only airports and town hall have them. And I know I can't go there since that group is still there."

He turned to her swiftly. "HERD is still at town hall?"

She nodded.

He pinched his skin in between his forehead and sighed. "I doubt they'll make peace with me if they found out that I'm his son… But then again…"

Just as soon as he had an idea, a knock on the door appeared. The siblings turned to the door and Max allowed entrance.

An old tiger appeared before them with his clothes all messy, covered in dirt. And the first thing he saw was the bloody bed that Max was laying on. His lips pulled back on one side and he crossed his arms. "Well, looks like those sheets need to be changed again."

Max bowed his head slowly. "Sorry… I'll change them now."

But Obadiah stopped him. "Now, now," he said. "No need to rush." He turned to Angel. "Angel? You think you can help with the vegetables? You'll be staying her for tonight right? So you have to earn your keep."

"Sure thing, Uncle," she said, getting off from bed.

"Staying over?" Max asked.

"Oh right, I forgot to mention." Angel smiled. "You may not know but Michelle and Sarah are also hiding. The group… HERD, that you called, are actually searching for us. So… I needed somewhere low."

Max sighed and placed his paw on his head. "I'm so sorry…"

Angel shook her head. "It's fine." She smiled and placed both her paws on his shoulders, making him look up at her. "Just promise me… That you would be the one to kill me instead of them… Okay…?"

A pause was Max's temporary answer. But then he nodded without saying anything with his mouth hanging opened slightly.

She smiled with closed eyes and tilted her head innocently. She skipped her way outside leaving the other two males in the room.

Obadiah sighed. "She really loves you, you know," he said, smiling. "From what she told me, Sarah usually is out doing her own thing while Angel is always studying. She planned to go overseas to find you too."

Max's ears twitched. "But why though?" he asked. "I don't remember her at all. And I don't think I did anything that would make her care so much for me."

Obadiah laughed. "From the day you were born, _EVERYONE_ was there. But not a single one made you smile. After you were born, you were marked with the Fangers' symbol on your back. When Angel saw you cried, she did everything to make you smile. To make you laugh. To make you feel like a family. And she did. Your first smile wasn't with your mother, you know. But with her. And she even enjoyed it herself. To the point where she wanted to protect you too. Ever since your disappearance… Well…" Silence at first as Obadiah remembered something. He sighed and shook his head. "She even forgotten what it's like to live anymore."

Max listened to him carefully and the tiger looked back at his nephew.

"Believe it or not… She never told anyone this but…" He looked around his surrounding. "The day when you returned, was the day she decided to commit suicide, you know."

The tod's eyes widened and he looked down at his covers.

"She really couldn't stand it anymore… That's why, Theodore… She didn't mind dying. As long as it's by you…" He laughed it off sarcastically. "I know it's messed up. But I understood how she felt. That's why I won't try to stop her." He looked at his nephew again with a smile. "Don't tell her I told you this though." With that said, the old tiger exited the room to continue his business.

Max just sat there, looking at his sheets and gripping on it. He had never thought about the idea of suicide. But was her life really that terrible without him? What he was curious was why to that extend. He placed a paw on the back of his head and frowned with gritted teeth. She _DID_ say that she knew she was wrong. And who would have thought that his first smile and joy was all thanks to his sister? Not his parents… Was that why he felt so comfortable with her?

His paw slowly gave up and he lifted up his head. He tossed the covers aside and walked out, deciding to help out with some of the chores before cleaning off all the blood covered on him.

 **Meanwhile at Zootopia…**

Sophie was sitting in the living room on the couch. It was Saturday, which was her day off from work. She was looking through at some pictures that she and Max had gathered since she stayed at his place for the first time. Almost every picture of Max is him not smiling. But deep down, he was. He just doesn't like to do that in public.

There were a few pictures of him smiling. Some were caught while he was off guarded and some because he really was enjoying his time that he can't help it. Comparing to him, Sophie had the brightest smile. But Max's had a lot of meaning to it.

While reminiscing the past, the doorbell buzzed and Sophie got off the couch after placing the picture album on the coffee table. She walked towards the front door and answered it. She smiled in joy when she saw who it was.

It was the popular couple from the ZPD, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.

"Hey," Judy said, raising a hand with a grin. And behind her was a fox who also smiled back with a peace sign.

"What a surprise," Sophie said in joy, stepping aside. "Please come in."

Judy took the first step in and was followed by Nick. And someone else…

"Come on, little one," Nick said, looking down and holding on the tiny paw to support her on walking.

Sophie turned to him and her smile vanished when she saw Nick held onto a baby mammal.

It was a vixen kit with purple eyes, large fox ears and a short snout. She was also sucking on a pacifier and wearing a pink one piece dress, as she struggled to walk.

Sophie responded by placing her paws on her cheeks and squeed. "Who is this?!" she asked. But then she realized with her ears lowering down. "Can it be…?" She turned to Judy. "Your daughter?!"

The couple laughed. Nick picked her arm in his arm and Judy calmed the hare. "In a way, yes," she said. "She's adopted."

Nick then raised her up. "Meet Isabelle Wilde," he said. "I thought I'd pick her up. She's got Judy's eyes after all."

Sophie can't help but play with the baby vixen's paws and laughed. "She does," she agreed.

The little vixen grabbed Sophie's paw with a curiously look at it.

The hare can't help but laugh. She turned to Judy. "So what brings you two here?" she asked.

Nick and Judy looked at each other and smiled before facing her. "Max said that you two are engaged," Nick said.

Sophie froze and smiled wryly. "He did now, didn't he?" she said.

"And he said you were pregnant," Judy said, placing her paws on her shoulders from behind.

She chuckled. "And it was suppose to be a secret too…"

"Well, he only told us," Nick continued. "You don't have to worry about it. We're here to give you two our blessings. Speaking of which, where is he? I tried to contact him but couldn't."

Sophie's ears drooped as she pulled her paw back from the baby vixen. She looked down. "I don't know…" she said. "He hasn't come back from… Meeting his real family…"

"You mean the one clue that I gave him?" Nick said.

She nodded. "I wonder if he's okay…"

The fox and bunny looked at the hare. Judy then lifted her chin up and rest her paws on her shoulders again with a smile in front of her. "I know he may be an ex-criminal," she said. "But I know at least that Max is loyal. That much I can tell just from seeing Nick and him get along. And you're the most important mammal to him. So trust in him okay?"

She clenched her fist and then placed her paw on her tummy. She nodded. "I will…" she said.

The couple smiled at her and before she knew it, her ear was tugged softly. She turned to see the baby vixen, Isabelle, was trying to get her attention. She raised her paws up as if saying she wanted to be carried by Sophie.

The hare smiled and looked at Nick who was carrying her still. "Can I?" she asked.

The fox just smiled and handed the child to her carefully.

She felt so light. She raised Isabelle enough to face her straight. Isabelle reached out to touch her face and Sophie laughed at the sight of it. She was just so cute.

"Looks like Isabelle has gotten attached to you," Nick remarked.

Sophie nodded and used her ears to play with the baby fox by lowering it and then raising it as a tease as the baby tried grabbing one of them.

Judy giggled, looking at them. "Would you like to join us for dinner tonight, Sophie?" she asked. "It would be a nice way to give our blessings."

Sophie turned to the bunny cop. "Why not?" she said grinning. And while being distracted by this, Isabelle managed to grab one of her ears and pulled it towards her then begin sniffing it.

 **At Vulper Island**

While everything was happy in Zootopia, things were very busy at Vulper Island. Max has been helping his uncle and sister doing some chores for the motel. While his uncle was collecting and chopping firewoods, Max was doing the laundry for the new sheets and Angel was collecting some fruits from the orchard that was behind the motel.

Max had his hoodie off this time because he still hasn't washed it yet. He was in his white t-shirt which was a little bloody and his cargo pants were… A total mess with red all over it. The only part that wasn't red was the part below his knees. But the blood dried off that it turned black already.

While changing the next set of sheets into the washing machine, Max left his hoodie on top of it since it was dry clean only. He was planning to wash it later after he was done with his chores. And while heading out to the rooms to change it, Obadiah called for him by his real name.

He turned around and placed the basket full of new sheets down by the door.

His uncle was around the corner, still chopping the firewoods. But when he walked towards the call, he saw his uncle stopped and breathed heavily.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Obadiah raised a finger, signaling him to wait. He patted his chest and sighed. "Do you think we can switch chores?" he asked with an awkward smile. "Looks like I'm not as young as I use to be." He ended his sentence with a laugh.

Max sighed. "Sure," he said. "But wash your paws first. The first batch is already clean. The second is being washed now."

"Thanks," Obadiah said with a grin before passing him the hatchet. He patted Max on the shoulder.

Max could feel the palm of his paw twitching and warm even. Guess this type of work is just too much for the old tiger now.

He sighed because he can't help but feel sorry for him. He looked at the hatchet and the rest of the wood on the ground. There were two baskets. One on each side. On the right was the firewoods that were still intact. And on the left were the ones that were chopped in half. In between them was a tree stump that was used for placing the firewood.

This was the first time the fox has ever done this. He's seen his uncle did it earlier and decided to copy him.

He took a block from the right basket and placed it on the tree stump. He chopped the block in the centre and the blade from the hatchet was stuck to it. Then he raised the hatchet in the air smashed the block back onto the stump. Not so hard, not so soft. And eventually the block of wood split in half.

He sighed and nodded. It was easy for him now that he understood how to do it. He placed the split woods into the left basket and proceed with another.

Few minutes have past as he continued on chopping the woods in halves. It was a great time killer since there were plenty more woods to cut.

Angel who happened to notice him with a basket full of fruits walk passed him. She smiled, admiring his handiwork as if they were living a normal family life doing all sorts of chores.

When Max picked up another wood, he noticed her and nodded.

She grinned and shook her head, telling him it was nothing. "You're quite good at this," she said, placing the basket down while watching him.

"Not really," he said, successfully chopping one in half. "This is my first time doing this sort of stuff. I just copied Obadiah is all."

"Still…" She picked up one of the chopped woods from the basket and looked at it. "A clean cut. You're learning fast."

"I guess."

She smiled and placed a paw on his head. "Glad to see you all grown up," she said with a tender smile, looking at her brother. She pinched his shoulders lightly, feeling his muscles. "You've really grown a lot, haven't you?"

Max looked back at her and smiled wryly. "You could say that," he said.

She nodded and handed him an apple that was taken from the basket. "Gotta stay fresh, Teddy," she said, slapping his cheek lightly.

The tod watched his sister walk off with the basket of fruits and then at the apple that he was given to. He smiled and took a bite of it and sitting down on the stump to catch a breather. Fruits really did taste delicious when freshly riped…

The sun was already on the course of setting. It was almost 6pm and the chores were already done by then. Well, at least for Max. He wiped his head with a towel that was hanging on the hook at the outside of the motel's back wall around the wood chopping area. He sighed heavily with puffed cheeks before heading back inside to rest.

But he stopped when something caught his attention.

He raised his nose in the air and begin sniffing. Something was cooking. And it smelled delicious. He followed the trail of the scent to the short end of the building where it was right next to the receptionist office. The smell was coming out from the window. He turned by the corner and the first thing he saw was Angel and Obadiah making dinner.

He walked towards the window and stood there while watching them cook with his head tilted slightly.

While Angel was grabbing the flour she spotted her brother by coincidence. "Teddy!" she gasped, before patting her chest to ease her heart from the shock. "Didn't see you there…" She smiled, dripping a drop of sweat.

Max bowed his head a little. "Sorry… I just finished with the firewoods by the way."

"Oh, that's great," Obadiah said, walking up behind Angel with some salt. "Do you mind putting them in the furnace? Angel and I will get dinner ready. Don't worry."

Angel nodded in agreement.

The fox hesitated at first and peeked inside the kitchen. Left, right, up and down. But the only thing he found was the source of the smell which was from a pot, boiling something.

His eyes' aim was very obvious and Obadiah laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "It's not prey. We're having duck tonight."

The vixen nodded again. "Uncle Obadiah would never eat prey anymore, Teddy. You can trust him."

She was right though. It was just hard for Max to believe anyone anymore. He nodded and head for the furnace that was outside at the back of the building. Pipes were connected from every bathroom in every room down to the furnace which was use to boil the water from the outside.

Max opened up the furnace and placed a few in before lighting up a match and tossing it inside as heat began to form. He blew lightly to get the flames going and even fan with his paws. Finally, a fire was made, slowly growing while the woods did the opposite. He closed the door and froze for a moment.

He looked at his paw and spread his fingers out. He realized he wasn't wearing his gloves. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time in 10 years that his paws were bared in public so often. And it happened the day he came here. He sighed and carried the basket with the firewood back into the rack next to the furnace. While walking, a wood dropped and he groaned.

He placed the basket down, picked up the wood, and tossed it back into the basket. Or so, he thought. The wood was stuck to his fingers and he pulled it out. He looked at his paw that picked up the wood and noticed some barks on his claws. He turned to the wood and saw claw marks which had three lines dragging down.

He blinked. He wasn't so use to this since he's never been barepawed in a while. He placed the wood back this time, making sure it really did before placing the basket to where it belongs.

He stretched out his arms and muscles after today's work. And a few minutes later, the bell for dinner can be heard ringing. Max turned to the sound which came from the kitchen where he saw Obadiah and Angel were. He walked towards them and the first thing he saw was them bringing out the food and entered another room next to it which had two doors.

His ears moved side to side in confusion with a frown on his face and follow them. The door was left open and inside was a canteen. Though, it was pretty empty besides the indoor picnic table and fire place at the very end of the room

Obadiah was wearing a pair of mittens, carrying a pot with a led to a table and putting it down gently. He opened the led and a steam was released as he stirred whatever it was inside with a ladle. Angel was carrying three napkins, three bowls and three sets of dining utensils, placing them down carefully and gently.

Obadiah raised his eyes a little bit and he realized his nephew was there. "Oh, you're here," he said.

Angel turned around and a wide smile appeared before the tod. "You really are attentive, huh?" she joked.

Max smiled slightly and walked towards them. "Dinner time?" he asked.

"I'm sure the bell already told you," Obadiah said before he stopped stirring whatever it was inside. "Sit down, Theodore. Dinner will be served in no time."

Few seconds after he said that, a 'ding' came from the kitchen and Angel stood up. "Looks like it's ready," she said, heading out.

Max looked from his sister to his uncle, standing there in confusion. They look so different than the others he met back at the Fangers' household.

"You okay?" Obadiah said, picking up a bowl and scooping whatever it is from the pot.

"Kinda," the fox answered, taking a seat. "I just… Find it a little strange…"

"What's so strange?" Obadiah scooped the food into the bowl. It was porridge. And it had a delicious aroma to it too. Smells like ginger.

"Comparing you two to the others… You're more cheerful. Most of time is always prey, prey, prey. But… You guys seem okay."

The tiger chuckled. "Angel is reluctant to begin with. Unlike Angel, I've forgotten all about it," he said. "Not completely though. I just don't wanna do it anymore."

"Why?"

Obadiah only smiled silently as he scooped some more porridge for another bowl. "I know what I did was wrong. Very wrong. Even after I knew it, I still kept doing it. Eventually…" He tapped the ladle on the rim of the pot twice to make sure there was no spillage. "Eventually, I got sick of it. You could say I quit, but others call it retiring because of how professional I was at hunting."

Max looked into his bowl of porridge then looked up at the tiger. "What made you quit?" he asked.

Obadiah's smile disappeared slowly but formed a new one. "Like I said… I was sick of it." He repeated the same answer. What Max wanted to know was what was it that made him tired of it. But the old tiger's smile can't fool him. He can tell that he didn't want to talk about it so he kept quiet. After all, he didn't want to be rude to him for helping him recently.

As he was lost in thoughts, something was placed on the table which sent him back to reality, scaring him a little but not shown on his face. It was a roasted duck on a platter. It sent off a glorious scent and Max blinked a little.

"Dinner is served," Angel said, taking a seat next to him while Obadiah on the opposite side.

It was a rather weird dinner. He looked at his porridge again and sure enough it was weird. It was carrot porridge and roasted duck with just plain water in glasses. But Max didn't complain. He just shrugged and began eating. It tasted decent and the only delicious part was the duck as a side dish. Dinner was just simple and plain but it was enough to fill three mammals for the night.

"So Theodore," Obadiah said while they were eating. "What are you gonna do once you kill all of us?" There wasn't a hint of fear coming from the old tiger when he said that.

Max swallowed his food first before answering. He looked up at his uncle. "I don't plan to kill _ALL_ of you anymore…" he said, planting a silence in the canteen. The only two present looked at him. "I… I've made up my mind that… Not all of you will be killed…" He looked up at the ceiling. "But… If it's necessary… I will…"

Angel looked at him at awe and smile before focusing back on her dinner. "Don't worry," she said. "I know I will accept my death."

Obadiah nodded. "Mine too… But you still haven't answered my question. What are you gonna do when you're done?"

Max sat there, keeping quiet and put down his bowl. "Get married…" he answered.

The two froze there, in shock from what they heard and paid full attention to the fox.

"I'm already engaged… I'm about to become a father too… So, once I'm done, I'm going home to Zootopia…"

Angel dropped her spoon that fell to the table then to the ground. Everyone heard this and the vixen quickly picked it up. She laughed awkwardly. "Silly me," she said with a forced smile. "I'll… Go get a new one." She stood up and quickly ran out to the kitchen to get a new one.

Obadiah put down his bowl gently and sighed. "I didn't know you were getting married," he said.

Max only could stare down.

"How long have you been engaged?"

"The same day when I arrived here…"

The tiger blinked once and slowly before pinching his skin between his eyes. "Who would have thought that the Child of Promise would continue his bloodline."

Max shook his head. "Then I'll make sure my child goes on to the right path. Just like the way I've been raised."

Obadiah lowered his paw, just enough for his eyes to be uncovered. He shook his head. "That's not it. Is she a prey or a predator? Your fianceè?"

Max clenched his fist and looked away. "Prey…" he answered hesitantly.

Only silence was covering up the scene. The two predators didn't say a word for a few seconds after the fox answered. But later, Max continued on.

"I love her…" he said. "She's the only one who stood by my side even after… I went savage…"

Obadiah's ears perked up and he looked at his nephew.

"One day… When she was being bullied… I almost killed her attackers… And… It scared her…" He looked at his paws. "It was on that day that I always decided to wear gloves so that I won't hurt anyone anymore… I never saw her again after that… And just recently… 10 years later, we're… Together…" Max chuckled. "I'm asexual… But she was the only one that I fell for…" He raised his head to look at the tiger. "I know prey and predators have never been in a romantic relationship before. But trust me. We're not the only ones anymore. Zootopia has legalized that relationship for a while now. And…"

"It's not that," Obadiah cut in. "It's something else."

The fox's ears lowered themselves and listened to what he was about to say.

"It's not possible for a predator and prey to have a child," he said. Max froze for a second. "It's really not possible. When you said your fianceè was a prey, and that she was having your child… It got me thinking then…"

Max stood up, placing his paws on the table. "What… Do you mean…?" he asked, being a bit worried.

The tiger shook his head. "I can't say for sure," he said. "But I know it's not possible for a prey and a predator to have a child together. Then again…" He tapped his index finger on his chin. "You might actually prove science wrong…"

The fox's paws slowly rolled into fists and he sat back down before bowing. "Sorry…" he said. He picked up his bowl and began eating again. But this time in a hurry.

What the two didn't know was that Angel was standing outside by the door, hearing everything. She held onto the new spoon tight and took a deep breath and sighed quietly before entering with a smile.

Dinner continued on as if it was a normal family talk. Angel and Obadiah would ask what Max would do during his time before he met them and Max answered truthfully, telling them stories of his adventures and misadventures. They would listen to them and were impressed by his life as a criminal. But never have they once thought of him as a bad guy. It was a peaceful moment for the three. And for the first time, Max was enjoying his time on Vulper Island. He didn't even try to smile. Because he really was happy.

Before they know it, it was almost 9pm. Max had already finished bathing and was in his new clothes already. A long-sleeved grey button-up shirt with dark blue trousers. He was sitting down on his bed with the lights off, eating chocolate while looking at his phone. Inside, contains pictures of him and his fianceè, Sophie.

Each picture he swiped, he would stare at it while chewing his chocolate bar and try to remember what was it that happened before and after they took the picture. He would smile occasianally after reaching to something worth remembering to.

As he did, the door to his room knocked and he put his phone away by placing it on the table. He walked to the door and answered it with his chocolate bar still in his paw.

It was Angel. She waved her hand and smiled. "Hi," she said softly. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with short sleeves. It looked a little loose too because her collarbones were visible. She was also wearing blue worn out shorts. The attire was fitting to look like her own pajamas.

"Hey," he replied.

"Can I come in?"

Max didn't answer but he stepped aside, allowing entry for her.

He turned on the lights and stood by the door as she took a seat on his bed.

"What's up?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

She bit her lips and looked down. "About… Dinner just now…" she began. "Are you really just going back after you're done here…?"

Max stared at his sister and sighed. "Yes…" he said. "Though… It doesn't mean I'm not coming back. At least I know I got someone I can turn to."

"Then…!" She stood up. "Why not stay here? Bring your fianceè here even!"

Max looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think you'll like her…"

"Because she's a prey?"

He turned back to her quickly.

"I heard everything, Teddy," she said. "Everything. And I don't care if she's a prey. She's already family when you proposed wasn't she? All the more reason to bring her here."

He looked at his sister for a while and then down. He shook his head. "I can't… I grew up in Zootopia like her… I don't belong here…"

"Yes, you do!" she yelled. That counter brought the tod to face his sister again, speechless and unable to move from his spot nor his body. "From the day you were born, you already belong here! You were born here! Don't ever say that!" Tears began forming from her eyes. "That's why…" she said through her tears. "You said it yourself, didn't you…? At least you have someone you can trust…? So… You don't have to leave…"

He can't help but feel pity now. She was right though. But then he had an idea. "Then… Why don't you and Obadiah come to Zootopia? I'll get you two a house. You two can decide…"

She shook her head again before he could finish. "I can't, Teddy…" she said. "I just can't…"

Max's mouth was left hanging opened. He wasn't feeling like himself anymore. He was feeling a bit afraid for some reason. As if his heart was telling him not to leave her. So… This was it feels like to have a sibling so close to you.

He raised his head. "Why not…?" he asked.

She smiled while still crying. "Because one day… You _WILL_ have to kill me…"

"I won't. Trust me."

She shook her head again. "No… I'm telling you, Teddy… What you're saying now… It won't happen…"

Max's paws began to tremble to the point where he was having a hard time holding his chocolate bar even. "Wha… What do you mean…?" he asked.

She took a stepped back, bumping into a table and turned around. She saw his phone with the wallpaper of Sophie on it. She picked it up and looked at it. "Is this her?" she asked.

Max stayed quiet for a while. "Yes," he answered with a nod.

She smiled and looked up at him. "She's beautiful…" She put his phone away and faced him. "She's very lucky to have you."

With that, she decided to head out.

"Wait," Max said, grabbing her by the wrist. "Tell me. What did you mean by that just now?"

She looked down and shook her head. "That's for another time… I… Just want to enjoy whatever time I have left…" She looked up at him and smiled, putting his paws away from her wrist. "That's why… Thank you so much for coming back…" She stood by the doorstep for a while and raised a paw. "Goodnight…" she said.

Max bowed and watched her walk into her room that she was renting. He closed the door and sighed, placing the palm of his paw on his head while rubbing it. His head was hurting from all those conversations. He needed to rest but he can't. He just can't stop thinking about what she meant by that. He finished up his chocolate and tossed the wrapper into the wastebin.

Then he turned off the lights and laid down, looking at the ceiling. He wanted to ignore what his sister said to him. He tried. It was only for a while until his mind went blank. He closed his eyes and sighed. Normally at this time, he would see Sophie appear before him but right now, it was just darkness. He can't even hear himself think. He rolled to the side and blinked again, grabbing onto the pillow.

Eventually, because of the silence and empty thoughts, he was able to fall asleep.

Time went on, not wasting a moment to spare to move. It eventually became morning with the sun rising up little by little. It was around 5am when suddenly, a call was made forward the Flock.

Everyone was asleep except for Vulperus who was still standing at the corner, facing the wall, staring at it blankly without blinking.

Rodriguez was the first to get up and answered the call button on the laptop. "Flock," he answered.

" _We found another_ ," said the other end. " _Sending the details now._ "

"Roger that," he said, then yawned after the call hung up. He got off from his seat and pushed the alarm, waking everyone up. "We got a biter," he said.

Not a single complain. They all got up reluctantly and Vulperus turned to face them. "I shall be in the van," he said. He walked out without the need to prepare and head for the vehicle. The reason why was because he was already wearing the Sabre Blades from the very start before he even reunited with his old team.

The team readied their gear and headed out with the wolf leading them.

"Looks like it's some kind of bus problem," Stephen said while yawning. He tossed his stuff into the back and sat down while reloading his weapon and looking at his tablet at the same time. "A bus that only allows preys. Driver is a predator."

"Any proof?" Joanne said, sheathing her knives.

"Yep. Security cameras caught the same bus that always takes the same route every time. No recordings of him stopping anywhere except bus stops, gas stations and when his shift was over. Driver is male bear in blue uniform."

"So all we have to do is corner him, huh?" Wright said, putting on his jacket.

Vulperus turned to him after sitting next to Joanne. "I suggest I will help with the close combat," he said. "I need some proteins before I engage."

As the Flock prepares for extermination, Max was sleeping peacefully. But he was disturbed by this uneasy feeling. His ears twitched as he heard his heart beating and he sat up. Something was wrong. He looked at his fur and saw they were standing up. It's almost as if his body is telling him something. He got up from bed and put on his Sabre Blades, grabbed his mask and headed outside.

Angel who was awoke by the sudden burst of the door opening, got up and looked out through the window. She saw Max running to the garage with his hoodie. And before she could catch up to him, he was seen riding off already.

She sighed and reached for her phone, making a call. "Hello? I'd like a cab send over."

As the fox rode to where his instincts were telling him, he overtook the van that the Flock was in and went full speed.

Rodriguez and Wright who were in the front seats noticed him. "Isn't that…?" Rodriguez said, not finishing his sentence.

"Follow him," Wright ordered.

Max kept riding without noticing them following him and he turned his attention to a bus that just made a turn from signaling. His eyes kept intact with the public transport and he raised his visor up a bit and sniffed. No doubt about it. This was the smell of blood. It was faint but he recognized it. He could never be thankful for his adopted parents teaching him the way to smell. He lowered his visor and sped to the direction of the bus right with the Flock tailing him unnoticed.

The bus drove into a tunnel and Max overtook it in the middle of it, stopping the target vehicle.

He got off his bike and removed his helmet, placing them on one of the side mirrors. He walked towards the bus and stared at the driver who was doing the same thing back. He could hear passengers asking what was going on and observed the inside of the bus. No blood. But luckily, the scent was still there that he wasn't fooled that easily. The driver must have been cleaned it but not thoroughly enough.

Flock eventually caught up with the vehicle and quickly got off the van, making their way to the lone fox. "What are you doing here?" Wright asked.

Max didn't answer that question but just went straight to the point. "Get the passengers out now," he said, clenching his fists.

Hesitation at first but Wright gave the order as well with a nod to his team. Joanne used her knife and cut the hydraulics from under the bus, opening the door. Stephen stepped in with a smile and a gun still in his hoof.

Sure enough that the only predator was the bus driver and all the passengers were preys. "Hello, hello," he said with a cheerful tone. "Don't be alarm everyone. It's just that something is going on with this bus and we would like your cooperation to leave."

Talks were beginning to form like "What's going on?" or "Is there a criminal here?", stuff like that. But not a single one directly asked to the Flock as they showed the passengers out. Vulperus stood there as the preys passed by him with Stephen leading the way out.

Joanne and Wright entered the bus, guns pointing at the bear. "Are you a Hunter or not?" the buck asked.

No answer came out. The bear just took a deep breath.

"Perhaps you aren't listening. Are you? Or…"

But he couldn't finish because the bear shifted into drive and drove off without warning.

He tried to run Max, who was still in front, over but he managed to roll out of the way. Seeing the target drove off, Max clicked his tongue and got on his bike quickly without putting on his helmet, riding off and chasing the escaping predator.

Rodriguez who saw this quickly got into the van and drove off, forgetting about Vulperus and Stephen who were still escorting the passengers to safety. Hearing their transport drove off, they gave a short chase only to give up later.

"What about us, man?!" Stephen yelled, reminding the wolf who was behind the wheels. But Vulperus stayed quiet.

The wolf heard him but was already too late to stop and gave chase to their target.

The bus drove left and right swiftly, trying to prevent Max from getting and closer from the sides. And it was working because the steering was at random so he wasn't able to tell how he should approach.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Wright asked who was struggling to stand up in the bus.

Joanne crawled her way to the driver's seat and stood up with the help of the passenger seats' railing. She cut off the sleeves of the driver and the first thing she spotted was brown leather and something shiny on the paw area. And it was confirmed that the bear was wearing Sabre Blades as well.

"Boss!" Joanne called. "He's got Blades! He's a Hunter!"

The bear released one paw from the steering wheel and clenched his free paw into a fist, unleashing spikes on the braces, pummelling the goat in the stomach with it.

She stepped back and groaned in pain but luckily she was a fighter.

And because of that distraction, the bus slowed down a little and Max stood on the seat of his bike and jumped at the back of the bus getting on top of the roof with his bike left behind. He crawled slowly and carefully to the front with the help of using the blade for the claws and peeked from the top to the window. He smashed the window, sending shards of glass to the bear by surprise.

The driver swerve at this sudden attack and before he could recover his vision, the fox held onto the roof, dropkicking the bear out of the bus through the door. Max landed in the bus and quickly jumped out, rolling on the ground to prevent any damage before he began his fight.

Wright quickly got into the driver's seat and pulled the brakes.

The bear and fox were now face-to-face. The bear stood up and removed his shirt with a growl, revealing a pair of Sabre Blades, one on each arm. Max got on all four and lowered his body with his ears pushed themselves to the back while looking up at the large predator. Both predators looked at each other intensely with their pupils dilated into a vertical line and showing their fangs.

"A Hunter?" the bear said through his growl. "Yet, you're attacking me. Traitor." The bear took out something from his back his back pocket of his pant. It was a piece of cloth and he tied it around his face, turning it into a mask.

Max put on his own mask before snarling and pushed his feet towards the large predator and sent his knee into the opponent's chin. But because of the size difference, the bear managed to grab ahold of his leg and tossed him away before he could land a hit.

The fight was brought to a construction site that was near them. The goat and deer followed them and watched as the two predators fight each other out. Eventually, the van that Rodriguez drove also arrived at the scene. No words nor reactions were exchanged though as all of them were very focus on the fight. They never even bothered talking about Stephen and Vulperus. Rodriguez ran to his captain with his rifle and the two awaited for their order.

Seeing the two Hunters go at it, Wright chewed his teeth, thinking. And later came up with an answer. "Back up Zero," he ordered. The two nodded and kept watching the two fight, waiting for a chance to strike the bear.

Because of the difference in sizes, Max was no match in strength. He was simply tossed and kicked around repeatedly, not able to attack him once. The Flock was shooting at the bear but because of his thick skin, he was absorbing the bullets with no problem.

Rodriguez fired his rifle and finally, it did something. The predator roared in pain and kicked the fox aside and turning his attention on the Flock.

The fight was now between the Flock and the bear. The bear ran towards the largest prey first but Wright managed to dodged under the bear from hugging him and the other two kept firing. This time, the bear was resisting the .308 rounds even.

Max took his time to rest and thought for a moment. He crawled away for a bit and he found something. A chain with a hook and connected to it was a winch. He picked up the hook and looked at the predator. How lucky were they to be in a construction site.

He held the hook with his mouth and launched himself onto the back of the bear. He tied the chain around the bear's neck and knotting it by shoving the hook into the bear's shoulder. But he didn't feel any pain as always and shoved the fox back.

Max shook his head and quickly ran to the machinery. Pushing the button which let out a buzz, the winch began moving, pulling in the chain and the bear that was tied and hooked to it. The chain tugged the bear, beating its strength from the tug-o-war. He was really holding on.

Max saw a chance, and ran from behind the large mammal and slide kicked him, causing the target to lose his balance and later get dragged to the machine. The fox then got in position and jumped onto the body of the opponent. He then raised his arms up, and with as much force as possible, he shoved the blades from the bear's ribs vertically. With the help of the winch dragging the bear, Max then pulled his arms the opposite side from the machine, cutting the bear's body open with guts spewing out.

The fox then screamed in victory after the bear stopped struggling from breaking free from the winch. The machine dragged his body, leaving a bloody trail made by the intestines as the body slowly gets crushed in it.

The group breathed heavily from the extermination. Although the fight was short, but that bear really was almost beyond what they've been exterminating back then. Even Max had some difficulty.

While the group that fought their target were resting for a bit, Vulperus and Stephen were walking out of the tunnel, trying to track down the bus. However, while Vulperus was on high alert, Stephen was casually walking.

"What a pain…" he commented. "Can't they think of the side characters sometimes?"

A vehicle drove behind them and Vulperus raised his head. He turned around, seeing the incoming vehicle. It was a cab and it had a passenger inside. But that wasn't the point. He felt something wrong. So he stood in the way. The cab almost hitting him but stopped just by a few inches.

"Target found," he said which brought Stephen's attention.

The black goat then took a stance and cocked his shotgun, realizing what his partner meant. He turned on his walkie-talkie contacting the group.

" _Guys_ ," he said through the coms. " _I got a surprise._ "

"What's up?" Wright answered, looking at his exhausted teammates and Max who was picking up his bike and helmet that got left behind from the chase earlier.

" _Guess who I found? The mayor's daughter._ "

The team stood up when they heard it but the one who was most shocked was Max. Mayor's daughter. That means…

" _Elias is engaging right now. I think he's gonna kill her though._ "

"Doesn't matter. We got the mayor so we'll confirm it to HERD through blood ID."

Hearing this, the fox shook his head. Getting onto his bike quickly, he put on his helmet and rode off back to the tunnel.

The team also got back into the van and followed him to the next extermination.

But to Max, he wasn't planning on helping them this time… Because their new target… Is someone that was exceptional to him… Angel…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

The past always hurts. And the future will only bring more suffering. That's why when you think about it, today is better than anything. No wonder it's called the present. Because the best ones are given to you.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** **(Family Comes First)** Hearing his sister becoming the fresh new target of Flock, Max rushes in to save her. But will he be a target himself to HERD? Eventually, he has to decide who he has to side with.

* * *

 **A/N:** 2 weeks of no update and I'm really mad at myself honestly. I hope next one will be quick. Sorry, everyone.

OCs that appear

Elias Vulperus belongs to Elias Nick

Daniel Rodriguez belongs to Frost8423

Natanya Jelavic partially belongs to guest user, otaku shoujo and the mentioned Maria is completely hers

Aoi belongs to an unknown guest user

Isabelle Wilde belongs to Trashasaurusrex


	6. Family Comes First

**A/N:** _Alright. This time for sure it won't be THAT delayed. Let's get a move on!_

 **Disclaimer:** _You know the drill. No need to explain._

 **Last chapter: (Exceptional Targets)** _After a meaningful conversation during dinner, our hero begins to hesitate about his plans regarding the Fangers. With Flock now onto a new target, Max rushes into the battlefield. But he has other plans…_

* * *

As he rode his bike as fast as he can back to the dark tunnel, using his night vision sight, he saw three mammals present. One was holding his shotgun in his hooves and was in a battle stance, the second calmly walking to the third that was crawling back in fear.

No doubt about it. Stephen was the one with the shotgun. And Vulperus was making his way to a helpless vixen which was his sister, Angel. Her eyes widened, her pupils dilated not because she was in the dark but because she was afraid. Vulperus has had his claws and blades out, preparing for the final blow. He raised his arm, ready to strike. Until…

"Angel!" Max yelled, running into the walking fox carcass with his bike.

Stephen turned to the attacker and gasped when he saw who it was.

The rider got off his bike and stood in front of his sister, putting on his mask. He was blocking the Flock member's way.

The black goat raised his weapon, pointing at the rebel fox. "Get out of the way," he said. "She's a Hunter."

Max shook his head. "No," he said. "I won't… Just because she's a Fanger, it doesn't mean she's a Hunter…" He glanced at her, noticing her ankle was bruised. He focused back on the goat. "She's never killed before… So I won't let you kill her."

While the two were exchanging stares, Vulperus took advantage of this and punched him on the cheek without him realizing, taking a cheap shot.

The two foxes went rolling over and over and eventually Vulperus got on top of the masked predator. He began scratching him in the arm while Max blocked his attack. Because of the thick leather of the braces, he wasn't able to feel anything. But Vulperus was nothing more than a carcass and kept attacking despite running out of stamina even.

By clenching his paws into fists, Max's side blades were released, cutting the attacking carcass on the palm. But he did not stop. He just kept going to the point where he was badly injured yet he felt nothing and continued slashing the other fox.

Max realizing this pulled his blades back and swiped his paws away and punched the fox carcass back and kicked him to the wall, almost hitting Stephen.

Stephen gritted his teeth and frowned, thinking of what to do, who he should side with.

With the fight going on, the van the Flock usually use finally arrived to the scene and Stephen was the first to notice it. He waved his hooves in the air, signalling to stop and everyone in the vehicle were confuse as to what was happening.

"What the hell are they doing?" Wright asked rhetorically. The three moved out of the van with weapons on them as they watch the foxes fight each other. "Stephen, what the hell is going on?" the buck asked.

"I wanna know that too," the male goat answered. "He just suddenly attacked Elias. Apparently, he wants to protect this one."

The Flock can only witness the fight went on. The foxes kept exchanging blows. One who was able to absorb all the attacks and the other who was suffered by it. It was almost as if it was a scene of two foxes fighting over for a mate too. And the victor would decide the female's fate.

The masked fox jumped and tried side kicking his opponent only to have his kicking leg pushed down on the ground, causing the attacker to fall. The fox carcass kicked him as hard as he can, making Max roll. But Max was persistant and stood up immediately. The masked predator rushed back to his opponent and sent many fast punches but again, the other fox brushed him down with force and kneed him in the chest, damaging the ribs of Max causing him some difficulty to breathe temporarily.

The Flock then turned their attention to the vixen and aimed at her. "Exterminate the Hunter first," Wright ordered. They all heeded the command and raised their weapons at the fallen vixen.

Max noticed this and got on his feet quickly and pushed them all back, pinning them to the truck as hard as he can.

"Get off!" Wright demanded, sending elbow blows on the back of the masked fox.

Max frowned in pain but it only increased the power of his grip.

It didn't last long when Vulperus pulled him off from them and tossed him to the wall.

The masked predator flew to the wall, hitting it hard and landed on his arms with a hard thud, along with his mask falling off. He coughed a bit. He already had a tough fight earlier with a bear and now he had to go up against an immortal predator that can't even feel pain.

He was too worn out to continue to the point where he can't even lift his face up from the ground. But his eyes were still moving and he could see Vuplerus standing there, looking down at him with the palm of his paws still bleeding from the cuts earlier.

Vulperus turned away and faced the vixen who was still down. She managed to crawl a bit further than before. But not far enough to get away it seems. Her ankle eventually gave in that she was unable to move. She looked up at the carcass walking towards her in fear and closed her eyes, looking away, preparing for what was about to happen.

Max could only watch as his breathing becomes quick paced, deep and struggling. He wanted to save her. He _NEEDED_ to save her. He frowned in anger, his teeth clenching, bearing his fangs with his claws dragging the tarred ground. His eyes dilated into a vertical line but this time, sharper.

He snarled and without warning, in a blink of an eye, he launched his body forward and punched the carcass back to the wall. Instead of punches, Max begin to scratch the opponent in the chest with his claws. But not his bare claws. The claw blades from the Sabre Blades.

The blades tore off the suit Vulperus was wearing and huge and multiple cuts began appearing on his torso. Every second, new ones were made yet the dead fox felt nothing with a blank look on his face. But it was too much for the carcass as he was unable to stand later. He leaned back on the wall to support him but it was still too hard to stand properly.

But Max was not done yet. He raised his claw up and shoved it into Vulperus' lower torso.

The fox carcass could only stare blankly with his mouth closed but blood began to be spat out. The savage fox could feel something in his paws. Something soft and squishy. He pulled it out and a stomach was in his paws.

The carcass stopped moving for a moment and his body slid down against the wall and on the ground.

Max breathed heavily with an angry expression. Few seconds after the unstuffing was about to commence, Max regained his senses and dropped the stomach. He took a stepped back and looked at the smelly carcass with eyes full of fear. He grabbed the back of his head with wide eyes.

"Wha… What…?" Max said to himself, not finishing it.

"Elias!" Stephen yelled rushing towards him. He checked his body and sure enough he was dead.

But at this moment, the carcass' head turned to face the black goat, sending a scare to the prey. "Forgive me…" he said. "It seems like I can't move my body… I need some surgery…"

Stephen covered his nose from the smell and almost vomitted. He nodded with a frown that showed a look of disgust. "Okay…" he said, holding in his puke.

The Flock walked towards their fallen comrade, picked up his stomach, putting it back into his body hesitantly and carried him into the truck.

Wright didn't do anything but just watch his team working together. He walked towards Max.

"Hey," he called.

Max didn't respond.

But the buck knew that was his reply and continued. "Do you know what you just did?" he asked.

"Yea…" Max answered with a deep voice. "I protected my sister…"

"Your sister is a Fanger. You know that right?"

"But she's not a Hunter," Max countered, finally turning to the large prey. "She has never killed anyone before. She has never even thought about hunting. Yes, she eats prey meat. But that was because she was forced to. I…" He glanced at his sister who was still injured on the ground. "I've decided… I'm not going to kill all of them. Only the ones that are truly hunting will be on my list…"

Silence.

Wright sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You have a point at least…" He took a step towards the fox. "But… If you so as much as hurt my team again. You're going down. You're lucky HERD's orders are not to kill you." The buck turned around, about to return to the vehicle after the team placed Vulperus in the back.

"Why?" Max asked before he left.

Wright opened the door and turned to the fox. "I don't fucking know," he answered. "Ask them yourself. If you want, you can follow us. We're on our way there now to get Vulperus fix." Rodriguez started the engine up and the buck took a look out the window on his end one last time. "We'll remember this… Still, you didn't technically kill one of us…"

Max looked at the prey with a doubtful look. The two exchanged stares until the van drove off.

As the vehicle distance itself from the predator covered in blood, he turned to his sister and walked to her after picking up his mask that dropped off from his face. He checked every part of her, to see if she was hurt anywhere else.

But she brushed him off, smiling. "I'm fine…" she said softly. She faced her brother up. "Thank you…"

Max nodded. "I won't let them kill you," he said. "I swear it."

Angel chuckled and shut her mouth tight with a nod. She held onto his arm as he held on to her, trying to help her stand up. She wrapped an arm around him and stood on one leg, hopping her way out of the tunnel with him holding on to her as support.

They stopped at the bench that was by the corner when they made it out of the tunnel and he sat her down.

"I have to go," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"You know why."

She thought about it at first and came up with a conclusion. "You're gonna meet HERD, aren't you?"

He didn't need to answer and just turned around. "You think you can get your own ride?" he asked.

She blinked and smiled, shaking her head. "Yea. It's just a sprain. So it'll heal once I get some rest."

After listening to her plan he began walking but was stopped when she called him out.

"Teddy. I'll… I'll have to relocate… I don't wanna cause Uncle Obadiah any trouble now that the Flock has found me. So… Send him my regards, will you?"

The tod continued walking and showed her a thumbs up, saying that he's got it.

She smiled and sighed. She took out her phone and began to make a call while her brother got back on his bike and rode off, following the scent the Flock has left behind. He never felt so lucky to have his good nose. He needed to make sure that he sees his parents once he gets back to Zootopia and be as thankful as he can be for teaching him the technique on how to pick up the scent more effectively.

While the Flock and Max make their way to the HERD, Ezekial was seen kept in a cage, sleeping uncomfortably. He kept turning left and right repeatedly and groaned, rubbing his stomach. He gritted his teeth lightly and sat up, facing the camera in front of the cage.

He waved at it with a tired expression. "Hey," he called out. "I promise you I'm safe. Can I at least have something to eat? Something with meat? Come on…" He began clapping his paws and sing tiredly. "Meat please~ Meat please~ Meat please~"

It went on and on, as if he was losing his mind. But he eventually gave up and lied back down after realizing it was useless to persuade them.

Everyone on the other side of the camera watched his every move and they were taking notes. The female panther in suit, named Jelavic, watched with crossed arms and blinked her eyes a few times often.

"Coffee?" the jackal with a suitcase, Otto, offered.

She accepted it gratefully and nodded, taking a sip.

"Shouldn't you rest even a little, ma'am?" Otto asked, holding the suitcase handle with both paws and standing formally.

"It would be a waste not to witness even the slightest detail," she said, walking to the table piled with files and reports. "I want to see it myself if possible. Has Maria returned home yet?"

"Unfortunately, no. She really insisted on staying with Aoi until he completely recovers."

Jelavic sighed and massaged her temples after putting her coffee down. "Did she use in my name again?"

"I'm afraid so. Even towards me."

She stopped and blinked a few times to shake off the blurry vision. "She'll learn not to abuse power one day. I can understand why she's worried about Aoi after all. What about the Flock?"

"They've accomplished their mission. However… Max Zero finished it for them."

The panther stopped her work and turned to the jackal. She smiled. "Interesting… I must definitely meet this Max Zero…"

"You may want to refrain from that, ma'am. Captain Wright reported that he protected one of the Hunters after the given mission was completed."

Again, she turned to her assistant but this time with a surprise expression.

Otto nodded. "Angel Fanger, Mayor Ezekiel's daughter was found. But she was protected by Zero. From the reports, he says that she wasn't a Hunter despite her relation with them. It could just be a lie or for personal reasons. But that was all they reported."

Jelavic looked left and right in disbelief and then back up to Otto. "And what of the situation?" she asked.

"They were forced to abort it after Zero pulled out Subject V's stomach. He is going through immediate surgery right now and will be given protein once it is done."

She placed a finger on her chin and tapped it. "But he never killed anyone did he?"

"Fortunately, no," the jackal answered, shaking his head.

She sighed in relief. "The fact that he didn't kill anyone makes him safe. For now that is." She took a seat and went over the reports again. "It's just one complication after another… For years this island have been facing many problems. The trust between prey and predator just keeps getting further the more the time passes. Yet, all this time, the one in charge has been keeping the preys as livestocks as if they were nothing…" She took another sip of her coffee, still observing Ezekiel with as much care as possible. "I wonder though… What made them start doing all of this…?"

Her focus was interrupted when a beep next to her sounded. " _Ma'am?_ " called someone through the intercoms. " _There is someone here. He's covered in blood and claims to be a Fanger. Should we shoot him down?_ "

She turned to the camera feed that was at the entrance. A fox was on his bike with his helmet on, paws raised in the air as all guns pointed at his direction.

She stood up in amusement. "Don't kill him," she ordered. "Welcome him here. That's an order."

Now focusing on Max's side, one of the guards yelled, "Lower your weapons! He's a guest!"

Everyone heeded that order and Max sighed in relief, putting his paws down. "So where can I park my bike?" he asked as politely as he can.

HERD was a large facility in the dense forest. The location was covered under the caves behind a waterfall and the only access through it is permission for the bridge to be lowered. It was no wonder the place was a secret. The bridge lowered and two roofs from either side joined together, blocking the waterfall from the bridge. Railings were raised on both sides of the bridge as safety measures and the metal flooring straightened themselves for vehicles to go through.

Max was impressed at the sight. It was just like the cave in between of Tundratown and the Rainforest District at Zootopia where the commuter train goes through it. Only HERD's was bigger. Perhaps even the biggest he has ever laid eyes on.

A giraffe in blue uniform and a cap signalled his arms to the left, telling Max to make a turn where it will bring him to the parking lot of HERD. And as soon as he stopped his bike, the first thing he saw was a sign that says: "Welcome to HERD". In between each letter of HERD, it read: Hetorosis Enigma Research Dome."

Max looked up and on top of a higher level of the cave was a giant dome and in it was a white buidling.

There were two sets of buildings in the dome. One was smaller than the other. The two were connected to a bridge that had windows around it. The smaller side has an satellite dish on top of it and an elevator shaft was seen outside of it which leads to the top floor where they can be able to walk to the other side. The bigger side has an observatory on it. The huge telescope was aiming at the hole on top of the cave. Crevices can be seen being formed on the top of the cave but they didn't look like they would break.

Max whistled in amazement. Units can be seen walking in the outer part of the dome, marching, carrying crates and keeping watch at all times. All different mammals. Both prey and predators. The place was very well organized and everyone seemed well trained. This was the fox's first time seeing something so… Military-like.

"Mr. Zero?" called someone. He turned to the voice in front of him and there stood a buffalo, holding an M4 in his hooves. "Chief Jelavic welcomes you. I am to let you enter the dome and escort you there."

The tod bowed. "Lead the way," he accepted.

He followed the escort up a flight of stairs that leads to the dome. When they arrived, the buffalo turned around to face the visitor. "I'll have to check for weapons," he said.

Max sighed. "Of course…" He unstrapped his Sabre Blades but only to be stopped by the prey.

"Sabre Blades are exceptional," he said. "I just need to check for others."

The fox frowned in confusion and decided to do as he said. He spread his arms and legs straight, letting the prey check for any kind of weapon. And the only thing he found was his mask hanging on the belt loop of his trousers.

"I need that," Max said. "It means something to me."

The buffalo shrugged and returned it back. "Everything seems okay," he said. "I'll let you in now." He took out a card from his breast pocket and swiped it down on a card reader next to the door.

The latch can be heard released on the other side and the door was ajar.

The buffalo stood beside the entrance and nodded. "You may enter," he said. "Welcome to HERD, Mr. Zero."

Max bowed back, thanking the prey and entered.

The inside of the dome looked like a paradise that you could only see from fairy tales. Even though it was dark outside earlier, the dome was brightly lit. Grasses were somehow grown in the ground and the sounds of insects creaking and buzzing can be heard too. It's almost as if the dome teleported him onto an exotic island.

Max touched the grass then the ground. Soil. He even wondered how it was possible especially in a dark and damp area like this but it was no time to ask useless questions like those. He was looking for much more important answers. But even though he was aware of that, he can't help but wander through the area, wanting to explore more.

"Max?" someone called out to him from above.

He looked up and he saw a ferret on a balcony, looking down at him. It was Aoi. And he was with someone else. A black female feline. Probably a panther. And she was heterochromatic as well. Her right eye blue and her left green.

"Max! It's me!" Aoi called and waved out happily with a smile. "Remember me?!"

The fox waved back and entered the building. He decided to pay the ferret a visit first.

"How you holding up?" Max asked after a warm welcome by the hospitalized predator.

"I'm doing fine, thanks," Aoi replied. "Maria is just keeping me busy while I'm in here. Oh, I forgot." He turned to the panther behind him. "Maria, this Max. The one I talked about. He helped us during our last mission." He turned to Max next. "Max, this is Maria. We use to play together whenever I was taking breaks from training."

"And future wife," the panther, Maria, added.

"I told you to not say that in front of others," Aoi argued with a blush. He looked back at Max and waved his paws in denial. "We're just friends. I swear."

Max looked at the blushing ferret and then at the panther. He bowed his head to the new face. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"Likewise," she replied with a smile. "Hey, Aoi. Let's go eat somewhere once you've recovered. There's this new place and…"

"No can do, Maria," Aoi cut in. "I already can't wait to see the team. They're really nice mammals. And I wanna be with them. Just a little longer."

Maria pouted and crossed her arms.

"But we can go if I have the time," he said, clapping his hands together. "Don't be mad. Please?"

"It's my mom, isn't it?"

Aoi looked away and stared up at the ceiling innocently.

She giggled. "I know she's scary, but you don't have to worry about her as long as I'm here. I trust you."

Max frowned. _Trust him_? He raised his paw up halfway to speak. "What do you mean, 'trust' him?"

Silence.

Maria shook her head. "It's nothing important," she said. She picked up her backpack. "I'll get going. See you later." She waved at him goodbye which he did the same and left the room to the two males.

Aoi sat down on the bed and sighed. "It's quiet again…" he said. "But, at least you're here."

The fox blinked and stared at the ferret, still wondering about the trust thing.

"Ah!" Aoi spoke up, remembering something. He walked over to the corner of the headboard of his bed. There was plastic bag hanging over there and he reached out for something with both paws. And what he pulled out were two wrapped burgers. He walked back to the visitor and handed one to him. "Here. Last time we had to split it in half. Now we have one each."

Max took it from his paw and looked at it. His eyes moved to Aoi unwrapping his meal and he chomped on it, smiling at the fox.

"Maria made this," he said. "I always enjoyed the ones she makes."

The visitor smiled slightly and nodded but didn't start eating. He stared at the burger that he was given and then at the ferret. He watched as the patient ate on with a smile of delight on his face as he ate his sandwich. Max was wondering a lot.

Aoi noticed this and smiled at the fox. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Max looked at the burger and then shook his head before facing the ferret again. "It's nothing," he said. "I was just thinking. Do you… Really do all this because you like the Flock? Last time we met, your captain said all you wanted was a family… And you got it. But yet, you never wondered why you still have to do something dangerous like putting your life on the line?"

Aoi looked up at the ceiling while chewing his food with his legs swinging back and forth. "I never met anyone besides Maria until I was 17," he explained. "At first, I always thought I should always depend on Maria only. And when I first joined the Flock, having more mammals that you have a bond with… Feels wonderful." He faced Max with a smile. "That's why, I don't think it's bad not knowing why I wanted this. I just like the feeling."

Max stared in awe in his answer. But at the same time, he was thinking of many other questions. Like why did he not want to know? Does he not know how much his life is at stake whenever he goes into battle with the Flock? He understood what it means to lose someone though. But does he understand how it feels to be lost? Max has gone through several of this outcome which is why he was very careful of his decisions. He wouldn't want Sophie to be hurt either. Sophie…

Remembering about her, he faced the ferret quick. "Is there a phone here?!" he asked. "One that can call outside of this island?"

Aoi nodded slowly. "But it's only for the higher-ups," he said.

Max kicked the air softly and placed his paws on his hips in disappointment. He placed one paw on his forehead. He needed to tell Sophie about his status.

"Looks like you need to make a call," said someone by the entrance.

The two males turned to the door to find a female panther with blue eyes entering.

Aoi stood up straight and saluted. "Ma'am," he greeted.

She nodded to his greet as a reply and turned to the guest. "So you are Max Zero?" she said.

"Raised as," Max corrected. "But born as Theodore Fanger. Or… At least I think."

She laughed, thinking of it as a joke. "Well, welcome to HERD. I'm Natanya Jelavic. I'm the Chief that runs the operations of the Flock and give them the order. I see you've met my daughter earlier as well."

Max frowned and nodded. "Can I borrow the phone?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

She crossed her arms and smirked. "Not much of a conversationalist, are you?"

"It's not that… I really need to make a call. The sooner, the better. Please…" He stepped forward and looked at the panther with pleading eyes.

She was staring back carefully and sighed with an answer. "Follow me," she said, turning around. "I'll bring you there. And Aoi." She turned to the ferret who had his mouth full.

He stared at her with his ears lowered and chubby cheeks.

"Get some rest. By tomorrow you will be discharged and will return to the team."

His eyes widened and he nodded repeatedly with a smile. He continued to munch on his meal but now with a happier look on his face. Probably because he can't wait to return to the Flock.

 **In Zootopia…**

Sophie was at the mall in the supermarket area, buying vegetables. She picked up some cabbages and looked at it, examining them, checking to see which one looked healthier. While busy with shopping, her cellphone rang and she put down the products, reaching for her phone.

She looked at the caller. 'Unknown' it says. But slid the call button on the screen and answered. "Hello?"

" _Sophie…?_ " a familiar voice at the other end.

She froze and even almost dropped her phone when she heard him. But she managed to regain her composure. She held the phone in two paws and whispered, "Max…?!"

Max answered with a " _Hm._ " She imagined that he was nodding when he said that. " _I'm sorry I haven't called latey… No international calls in this island apparently. I got special permission for now. And it won't be long._ "

She shook her head, holding in her tears and quietly sniffed. "It's okay…" she said softly, not wanting anyone to hear. "You have no idea how worried I am…"

Max chuckled. " _I'll… I'll be going home late… I need to do something here… But I can't tell you yet…_ "

She nodded and sniffed again. "Let me guess…" she said in a shivering tone. "You got yourself in trouble again…"

Silence.

Max sighed. " _It's more than that… I just wanna say that it will be… Much… Much longer… I'm not talking about late for work kind of late. I meant…_ " There was hesitation in his voice and the words just couldn't come out.

She smiled. "Idiot… I've waited 10 years for you, didn't I…?" she said. "And I'll still be engaged until you come back… So… Just don't die, okay…?"

She could feel Max smiling behind his end. " _You got it…_ " he said. " _And… If our baby is born, please take care of it. I swear, that if I return, I'll be a fulltime dad by then._ "

She laughed and nodded. "Sure…"

" _My turn's almost up here. I have to go._ "

"Okay…"

There was slight pause at first but Max spoke up. " _I love you… I'll get home one day. I promise._ "

She covered her eyes and sniffed again. "I love you too…"

The call ended and a long beep was heard. The call has been cut. Sophie wiped her tears and sniffed one last time, and breathed heavily. Finally… She have heard his voice and that was all she ever wanted to after he left. Max was a fox of his words. However, she knew that some promises can be broken. But she has hope on it.

She put her phone away and looked up at the ceiling and just realized she was in the mall, shopping for food. Remembering this, she walked to the nearest restroom to wash her face. If Max was here, he would have been embarassed about it since it would be in the public. And she didn't want to disappoint him with that.

 **HERD HQ**

Max put the phone down and sighed with his head lowering down. He rubbed the back of his head with both his paws and clicked his tongue. What a pain it was. But he was glad he was finally able to talk to her ever since he has been here.

"Who was that?" Chief Jelavic asked.

He turned around and shook his head. "My fianceè…" he answered, tonelessly with a blank expression. His face wasn't showing it but inside, he was missing her. He bowed to the chief. "Thank you… For letting me use your phone."

She raised a paw up to stop him from respecting her. "It's nothing. Comparing to you helping us with the Hunters, it's the least I can do."

Max was brought into an office when she led him the way. The office had multiple monitors on the wall, all showing different rooms. There were around ten monitors, surveilling everywhere with work in it. The entrance, the dissection room, the chemistry room and many more. There was even one keeping an eye on Aoi. Yet there were no others for hospitalized mammals. Maybe because it was just one room which is specifically for the ferret whenever he gets injured. And one of the rooms caught Max's interest.

The cell room where Ezekiel was being caged. He was seen lying down flat, not able to move.

"You've caught Ezekiel," he said.

"Thanks to you," she replied crossing her arms. "Although there was no proof, I choose to trust your words. Even the mayor himself admitted it but until we have more evidence, the public must not know about this."

"You said he confessed even. But why still need evidence?"

"You'll be surprise. HERD is not 100% sure that he is the one behind the Hunters. The mayor could have been forced to lie by them. We searched his entire house but there was not a single prey meat found. And his family… Well, we have no idea. Except one…" She turned to him. "From what I heard, you actually protected her."

"Angel is different," he argued. "Yes, she eats prey meat before. But that was because she had no choice. In fact, she's never killed before. Let alone thought about it. That's why, she's not like them. And also…" He looked down. "I made a promise to her… That _I'LL_ be the one to kill her instead."

There were no words being replied. Chief Jelavic tapped her index finger on her forearm, thinking. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well, then," she decided. "We will make Angel Fanger an exception. You don't seem like a fox that goes back on his words."

Max chuckled. "Well looks can be deceiving."

His eyes returned to the monitor and on one of them, he spotted something. A surgery was going on. Elias Vulperus was lying on the counter while the doctors were fixing his internal organs. Max sighed at the sight.

Jelavic knew where he was looking at and stood beside him. "Luckily, it's not that critical," she said. "Subject V just needs to be patched up and some nutrients to quicken his health."

Max looked on. Vulperus's eyes were opened when the surgery was taking place. He really does look like a carcass from where Max was standing. "He's in pain…" Max said.

"Impossible. He doesn't feel that. Not even when you pulled out his stomach."

"I'm not talking about physical pain. I'm saying he's suffering a lot more than he needs to be. Those who died, should stay dead. Eventually all living things rest in peace."

"But this is for the sake of other lives. Subject V is proof that it is possible that even the dead has a chance to come back to life."

He turned to the panther. "His name is Vulperus isn't it? Stop calling him Subject V. He's not an experiment project."

"But he is. A carcass is no longer a being, but an object. So how is that not a justifiable fact?"

Max blinked as he watched on with the surgery. "Nature has already decided that once someone dies, they should be one with it… It'll probably bite you back in the tail if you keep up." He turned back to the one with Ezekiel in the cage. "I wanna see him."

She tapped her fingers again. "Do what you want," she said. "You _ARE_ the guest after all. His room is in the other building. Turn left when you arrived and at the end of the hallway is where he is."

He exited out after getting the detail. He kept repeating the navigation that he received in his head until he reached his destination.

The imprisoned tiger lay there in his bed. His nose began twitching at the smell of blood. And it gave out a disgusting odor. He opened his eyes and frowned, covering his nose.

"What is this smell…?" he said to himself. But with it, the smell of cooked meat was also in play. He took sniffs and sure enough, along with the odor was a pleasant freshly cooked meat. He sat up and turned to the door that opened right outside his cage.

And in comes a fox covered in dried blood that was turning black. Though, there were some parts that were black from the beginning due to the fight he had with Vulperus earlier.

Ezekiel smiled. "Oh? You came?" he asked. He walked towards the bars and touched it, sending a shock to him which he pulled his paws away. He laughed at the pain and shook his almost burnt paw. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you." He looked into Max's paw and one of them was holding onto the burger that Aoi gave. "That for me? I appreciate it, thank you." He slipped his paws in between the bars carefully, not to get shocked and opened up his paw for the burger.

"Keep dreaming," he answered. "I'm just here for some info. Nothing more."

He looked at his son and pulled his hand back in carefully. "Fine then," he said, crossing his arms. "What do you want?"

"First of, why did our family start doing this?"

Ezekiel laughed and clapped his paws together. "Don't tell me you forgot," he said. "I've already told you. From the dawn of time, predators are on top of the food chain. But because of evolution, animals became 'civilized'. More thoughtful. And even cooperate with each other. Whether or not they are predators and prey. Put some thought into this." He sat down on his bed. "Why is it that this world contained 90% of prey now?"

Max didn't answer. He was searching for it while looking down.

The tiger smirked and raised his index finger. "One reason only. The number of preys always outnumber the predators. And because of that, nature is no longer balanced. So why not? In fact, think about this. There are three categories for the animals. The carnivore. The herbivore. And the omnivore. Why is it that predators are in both the carnivore and omnivore section? Because that's just it. Predators are always on top of the food chain." Ezekiel lied down back on his bed. "The fishes, the insects and even birds. They are all predators. From the beginning of our existance, predators are what help balanced the number of preys."

Max clenched his fist. "Then what is there not to be proud of? The preys may have outnumbered us in mammals. But if all species, predators are still dominant. So why still eat them?"

"Because…" Ezekiel sat back up. "Predators always eats another predators even outside the mammalia family. And do you think it's enough? Why is it that predators have to feed on other predators? In a way, that would be cannibalism, is it not?"

The young fox was speechless. He was right. But unlike prey, other animals outside the mammalia kingdom are not evolved. Therefore they had the right to be eaten. Max was about to answer back until Ezekiel cut in.

"How did it feel? When you killed that pride?"

Max's mouth was left hanging open before he began saying something. He blinked, looking at his father in confusion.

"I know you were at the Prideful Stay the other day. Everyone here saw it through that dead fox's eyes. Including me. You slaughtered everyone that got in your way." Ezekiel laughed and looked at his son's paws. "And last time I saw you, you always wore gloves. But now… Look at you. You're starting to become like us now. You have no idea how proud I was when I saw you killing them. But…" He shook his head, looking down. "What I'm disappoint is why didn't you eat them."

Max's eyes widened.

"A predator would eat anything they kill," the tiger continued. "Did you think I cared when you betrayed us? What I cared was your hunger. Have you never once thought about taking their carcass back and have it for yourself?"

"SHUT UP!" Max yelled, covering his ears. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He began to trembled and frowned in anger, looking at his father. "I'm not like ANY of you! And I never will be!"

Ezekiel tilted his head a little and smirked. He sat down on his bed. "But you were," he said.

Max silenced.

"We've fed you red meat before you know. You were too young to even remember it. It was only once after all."

"Then I'm glad I didn't remember it."

"You should be… Because it's the reason why you will never see your mother again."

Max's eyes widened. "Wha…?" His sentence couldn't be finished. He was lost at the thought of it.

Ezekiel smirked again. "I said red meat, didn't I? I never said it was prey meat."

Max stood there in disbelief. He gripped his head. His eyes dilated into a small circle as he gritted his teeth. Now shaking in fear instead of anger, Max was completely thoughtless. But eventually, after looking up bact at Ezekiel again, he was filled with rage. He was about to draw out his weapons but was interfered by the door opening.

"Please contain yourself, Mr. Zero," Jelavic said after entering.

He turned around and saw her walking towards him.

"The hunger will calm him soon enough," she continued. "There is no need for any violence here." She turned to face the guest. "Do you expect to believe him? This tiger has been keeping secrets from us for far too long. I doubt he would kill his own wife and have you eat her. Because…" She looked at the mammal in the cage. "I know for a fact that he loves her."

The fox finally loosened up after hearing that and then looked at his father.

He clicked his tongue and lie back down on bed. "Oh great," he said. "Mrs. Not Fun has joined in on this."

She shook his head and faced the fox. "You don't have to worry," she said. "I promise you that what he said was a lie. Marilyn Fanger was someone he loved which was why he was mayor at first. Because he sees interspeciesm as a form of love. When the board was talking about this, he did everything in his power to make it legal and so he did. He had never fell in love with any other mammals. Until… Her disappearance for 5 years, that is."

Max looked back at his father. His back was turned from the embarassing storytelling.

"Even after he remarried, he would come to us and frequently ask where she and you were. But now that you're here, one missing mammal has been ticked off the list. The only one now is your mother."

Ezekiel sighed. "See what I mean? No fun. Can't I at least scare my own child just for a bit?"

Jelavic shook her head. "Until you actually need food, we will provide them. For now, nothing. Also…" She moved the conversation back to Max. "There's an emergency. Unfortunately, Subject V is still unable to fight. And Aoi still needs time to recover before he could return. If it's possible, HERD would appreciate your assistance again."

Ezekiel stood up. "Then, how about this?" he said, getting the two's attention. "You guys let me out, and I'll help exterminate the rest of the Hunters. I could care less about them as long as my own family survives." He brought out his paw. "So hurry up and give me that sandwich. I'm starving here."

Max looked at the burger in his paw and handed the tiger his meal. But… Before the tiger could reach for it, he pulled back and unwrapped the sandwich. And he began eating it in front of his father.

Ezekiel watched on in annoyance.

Max finished the whole thing in a few seconds and swallowed loudly for the tiger to hear. "You're right… Family is indeed important…" He looked up at the tiger in the cage. "That's why I'll make sure the one that kills you all will be… Me…" Max reached for the door and stopped for a moment, glancing at the panther. "You're daughter is a great cook, by the way." With that said, he left the room, leaving Jelavic speechless.

Ezekiel clenched his paw into a fist and sighed. "What a stubborn kit," he said. He turned to the panther and rubbed his chin. "Do you really have to ruin my fun all the time?"

"This is a serious matter," she replied. "I cannot allow any 'fun'. In fact…" She faced the tiger. "I'd like to know this. Is he really a fox? His size, his appearance and his physical strength far exceeds those like a normal one."

Ezekiel laughed. "You'll be surprise…" He lay down on his mattress again. "I _CAN_ tell you something interesting though, since I feel it's a little unfair…" Quiet at first before he faced the panther. "I wasn't lying when I said he ate his mother…" It was enough to shock the one in charge. The tiger smirked and continued. "And he is _NOT_ a predator…"

Jelavic's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"

Ezekiel's smirk was still intact and he turned his backs around on bed. "I'm tired… I'm going to sleep…"

The panther showed a disgusted look with a click of her tongue and left the room. Knowing the mayor, he would be very ignorant when the most crucial part needed answer. And it was the same even after he was being imprisoned.

The Flock was back in the town again. They were now in a factory fighting off another bear but this one was bigger. And angrier. Just like the other one from earlier, it was wearing the same kind of Sabre Blades. The one with spikes on the braces but with addition to five kerambit-shaped blades on the paw area that looked like metal claws.

It was a public fight and many of the factory workers were running to safety as the Flock kept the Hunter busy with everything they got. It will be rather difficult since their two aces aren't here. So their plan was to drive it away. But it seemed that the bear had no plans to do that. It was taking in many stab wounds from Joanne's knives and bullets. Because of the size, the muscles were also solid. Almost as hard as a rock. Maybe harder even.

Max arrived at the scene and got off his bike after taking off his helmet. He pulled out his mask that was hanging on the belt loop and put it on, charging into the field with claws out.

His first move was stabbing the bear with his claws in the abs. It inflicted the target just a little but he was kicked off with full force and was knocked down to the ground.

The Flock stood in front of Max and shot at the bear who felt nothing to slow him down just a little.

"You have no idea how happy we are to see you," Wright said, not facing the fox.

"Even after what I did to your friend?" Max asked back, standing back up.

"Jobs aren't suppose to be personal. Besides, Chief's orders are to work with you. Though, I don't like that. But as long as we get paid, that's all it matter."

Max chuckled and stood in front of them this time. "Then… Let's make a deal." He turned to them a little. "From now on, let me decide who I want to protect. I can promise you that I'm not gonna kill one of you even if you guys are against me. Just let me choose who it is that gets to live. Angel is one of them. So please ignore her if you ever come across her."

The team members looked at each other and the buck eventually groaned, rubbing his head. "Guess there's no helping it…" he said in defeat. "Fine then. As long as my team lives, I'm okay with that. We all need money after all."

Max smirked and faced the target back. He spread his legs wide and got on all four with his tail moving left and right in preparation. He leapt forward and punched the large predator on the chest. It ducked out of the way getting behind him. But Max followed up with a spinning kick and a quick clothesline. The bear was pushed back a bit and the fox jabbed it in the abs again but at the same time was side kicked on his sides, making the small predator to lose his balance for a short period of time.

The bear sent a clothesline of his own but Max rolled out of the way and pounced on the face of the bear, scratching him on the back of the head which finally did some real damage on the target.

But the fox was easily pushed back from it and was sent flying and hit the railing of the higher ground of the factory. With that much force, Max was rolled back on the upper level and held onto his back. He stretched his back a bit but it wasn't long until the bear itself was making its way to his direction and bulldozed him on the railing again.

Trying to fight back the pain, Max ducked under when the bear was about to attack him with another clothesline. The fox held onto the railing and jumped, double kicking it in the arm.

The bear gritted its teeth in anger and swiped its paw towards Max but he turned around after the dodging the attack and began climbing the beam that was close-by. Climbing as high as he could with the help of the metal claws, he back ejected himself, landing behind the target.

The target swiped at his direction again but this time, Max caught its arm and twisted it, along with the opponent, downing it. And while trying to take this chance to finally kill it, the bear used its legs and launched the fox away, sending him crashing into the railing and even almost fell.

The bear quickly stood up and ran for the stairs to go higher this time. But with Max regaining his stance again, he launched himself forward, sticking himself on the back of the bear as the hurt predator tried to get him off of it. But it was pointless as Max's claws sank deep into its skin. The only option was to be resourceful and the bear did so by pushing his back onto a pipe that was carrying hot steam, burning Max in the process.

Max screamed in pain and let go, elbowing the bear in the collarbone. The bear didn't waste time letting him rest and kicked the now injured fox in the gut. He picked Max up by the shirt and uppercut the fox and leg swept him down on the ground. But Max, not trying to recover, turned his body trying to sweep the bear's leg next. But because of its size, he stood there firmly like statue and picked the fox up by the leg and swung his body on the railing, using it by crashing his ribs on it.

Max held onto his sides again and his body was shaking in pain with his mouth shut tight. But he was very resistant and dropped kicked the bear back, trying to get some space. While the bear brushed off the attack, Max launched himself forward and spun upside down, sending an upside down shining wizard on the head of the large predator which inflicted a major damage to it.

As the bear held on to its head, Max ran forward and grabbed it by the wrists and began breaking it. But what he didn't realize was that the Sabre Blades were just like the other bear's before.

By clenching its fists, spikes were unleashed and Max's paws were stabbed with multiple wounds. He screamed in agony, as he tried to pull back but instead the bear kicked him before he could, causing the fox's paws to be heavily injured. He looked at his paws, finding multiple holes with blood as they were shaking in pain.

The bear used this distraction and began swinging its arms left and right, using the spikes as its weapon on Max's face. But quick on his wits, Max dodged every attack. Even after he was cornered the red-fur predator leapt over the railing and did a spinning cartwheel that brought him to the other side of the upper level. He was still resisting the pain on his paws and even moaned in pain softly.

But without him realizing the bear had already reached the other side and grabbed him by the neck. It had a strong grip around Max's throat and a smug look on its face.

"So you are the one that killed mama, huh?" it said in a sinister deep voice.

Max held onto its paws and tried to breathe. He was staring blankly at its braces with gritted teeth but the grip kept getting stronger as the time passes.

He could feel the adrenaline rushing in. The action he had just experienced, was driving him to the brink of a savage. Max slowly looked up at the large predator and this time with a different look in his eyes that even the bear was surprise. His eyes dilated into a sharp vertical line like a feline in daytime. Wrinkles can be seen on the top of his nose and between his eyebrows. He can be heard growling and the bear itself was unsure what was happening to him.

Max clenched his own fist, drawing forth his side blades and swinging them in, cutting both the bear's arms as blood began spraying out from its elbows.

The bear yelled in pain and even kneeled down as he watched on to his arms that were just cut off.

Max turned to his side after regaining his consciousness and spotted a chain hanging on one of the beams. He reached towards it and grabbed it, tying it around the bear. Because the bear had no paws to defend itself, Max had the upperhand. The fox used all of his might and jumped off the railing, dragging the bear's body down along with him. The bear was pulled back down and was hanging on the upper level but still moving, trying to breath while Max held onto its back.

But that was not the fox's full plan. He leapt forward and over the bear and stabbed its brain with his side blades. Then letting go as the blade cut the bear in half vertically, literally from head to groin as Max was pulled down by gravity.

The sharpness of the blade was so dangerous that it even cut off the chain and the new carcass dropped along with it, covering the fox in fresh blood and guts.

Luckily, Max was wearing a mask so the smell wasn't effecting him so much. He breathed heavily and stood up slowly with a frown.

The Flock who were busy getting everyone out finally arrived at the scene and witnessed the blood soaked fox.

Max looked down on the fresh carcass and stepped on one half of the head. He looked up in the sky and yelled victoriously as he did before. Like parent, like child. This was becoming a more usual thing for him lately.

Wright pulled out his walkie talkie and pushed the button. "This is Wright," he said. "Target eliminated. Horribly that is…"

Stephen and Joanne covered their nose from the stench. They were both preys after all so the smell of blood was very disgusting to them.

"Thanks again…" Wright said, starting to cover up his own nose now but smiling.

Max nodded back and looked at his bloody paws. He seriously needed to wash up this time…

With the mission successful today, we return to Ezekiel Fanger's situation. A lion with dark red mane wearing a fancy black suit entered his room.

"Mayor Ezekiel Fanger…" the visitor called out.

The tiger looked up and sat up, looking at the guest. "Who the hell are you?"

The lion raised his paw and tightened the knot of his black tie a little. "This is our first time meeting so it's normal for you to not know me," he said, laughing it off. "I am Dustin Corbett. I am the supervisor for the biology section of HERD and would like to…"

"I refuse," Ezekiel said, resting his cheek on his paws in boredom.

The lion, Corbett, nodded slowly and raised his paw up again. "Please hear out my condition first," he said. "Or, would you rather be dissected and be used as one of our experiments?"

"Of course not."

"Then why not hear me out?"

The tiger laughed and shook his head. His eyes was looking at another direction. Behind the lion in suit.

Corbett noticed this and turned around. Before he could react, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and electrified him with a taser, putting the lion out cold. The figure was a medium sized mammal with with a long snout, signifying it as a canine. The fur was black the tail moved around side to side after the attack. A full white mask that had a red Japanese-style curve patterns was worn by it and the only thing can be seen was the eyes behind it.

"Took you long enough," he said.

"Sarah was too busy getting their attention," the canine said with a female voice, and taking off the mask. It was Michelle, Ezekiel's current wife. The black wolf. "We have enough time to escape if she keeps them busy."

"Did you two get anything good to bring back?" Ezekiel stood up from his bed.

"No time. We did kill them. Except the predators."

He nodded. "I'd like to see their reaction after seeing dead preys around them. But it looks like that's for another time."

Michelle was wearing Sabre Blades. There was a handle on the palm of her paws and a button on the top end of it. By pushing it with her thumb, three sharp straight claws were drawn out from the top of her paws. ( _The same kind like Wolverine from the X-Men has._ )

She claws the control panel that was by the pillar of the cage, shutting down the electric current that was going through the bars.

Ezekiel touched it lightly and after knowing it was safe, he finally held on to the bars, laughing at it after finally being able to freely touch it.

Michelle passed a thermal flask in between the bars to her husband which he gladly accepts it. "Thank you~" he said in a playful tone, opening the cover to the flask. Using the cover as a cup, transparent liquid was poured into the cover and two yellow yokes joined in. They were raw eggs.

He drank it heartily and even sighed in delight after swallowing them, licking his lips to savor the taste. He finally got the protein he needed and smiled. The claws from his bare paws were drawn out. He gripped two of the bars and pulled them out easily, and walked out with ease.

"Let's get out of here," he said, smiling at his wife. She smiled back and gave her husband a mask before putting her own on.

And so, the couple escaped from the HERD and because of this, the public announcements were made few days later. With enough evidence from security footage, Mayor Ezekiel Fanger has been relief of his duties in Vulper Island. And after hearing this, Max was even more determine than ever. Family always comes first. In his current case, they are his priority targets…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

Even though I was adopted, I still think of my adopted parents as my real parents. To me, family is someone that loves you for who you are. Not just by blood. That is why, I don't mind not knowing who my blood-relatives are.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** **(Gambling Trust)** With the public now knowing their former mayor's true identity, the preys were more cautious in their surroundings around the predators. Trust issues have been formed but those who are against this, can sometimes be the one that is hated by others.

* * *

 **A/N:** Finally. I got an action scene right this time. At least it didn't take long like last chapter. Also, to otaku shoujo, I know your OC is a black cat. But there is a reason why I changed her into a panther. There are NO urban nor domestic animals in Zootopia. This was confirmed by Rich Moore and Byron Howard long ago. So please try to understand. Thank you.

My stories are purely influenced by the movie itself. I thought about staying true to the canon concept and that was my intention since the moment I started writing Zootopia fanfics. I would research and watch interviews with the staff on Zootopia, learning about the world of the movie and trying to understand it so I can make it seemed like it would really take part in the world of Zootopia.

I love this movie so much that I am not willing to change the slightest concept of it into my own creativity. Instead, I put a lot of thought about it and I did. Though it's not popular anymore, I can finally say this. "Fuck it." Because this is my last story and I'm putting a lot of thought and effort into it.

I even have to do fighting moves to learn how attacks and fights would work and I have to say, it was VERY embarassing. But, it was fun, I admit. Very fun. Manage to lose some weight because of it. XD

Anyway, ciao. And see you in Chapter G.

OCs that appear

Elias Vulperus belongs to Elias Nick

Daniel Rodriguez belongs to Frost8423

Maria Jelavic belongs to otaku shoujo but Natanya is mine ( _I figured she could use a mother since it will be important to the story_ )

Aoi belongs to an unknown guest user


	7. Gambling Trust

**A/N:** _Goddamn, this took long. Because of Aidilfitri, I've been busy with my part-time job. I had to do some overtime to fill in the gaps and because 98% of my co-workers are Muslims, I had to take their place. Well, at least money is good. Brings me closer to buying a PS4 soon._

 _Sorry for the long update. But I thought I should let you all know about what happened. Anyway, let's get this over with._

 **Disclaimer:** _Zootopia_ still belongs to Disney but the characters are not theirs. Some belongs to the readers.

 **Last chapter: (Family Comes First)** _After visiting HERD and meeting some new faces, Max has decided on who he sees as an exception on his kill list. But after his last target, news of his father's escape from HERD was spread around the island and his identity as a Hunter has been exposed as well. And because of this, the trust of preys towards predators have fallen apart while some was retained. Now, Max was determine more than ever to put an end into the preys suffering and returning the trust the two families have lost._

* * *

2 weeks have passed after Ezekiel Fanger's escape from HERD. Things have gotten a bit quiet lately. But it was because of the cold shoulders the preys were giving the predators. So quiet, it was like a graveyard. Ironically, the island was already dead to begin with. But our hero was not going to let it go on like this. He wanted to end all this situations that has been going for… God knows how long…

His sister, Angel, in wherever she is now, have not seen him lately. She has been relocated to another place instead after their seperation at the tunnel. He never even managed to see her off. Max was still living with his Uncle in the unnamed motel.

He was painting the walls of the motel as part of his chores, carefully not missing a single spot. The motel was turning from yellow to white. And Max even has some paint stains on the fur of his cheek and he looked… Rather cute too. Especially wearing a cap. His eyes, which were usually half closed, were completely opened and focus as he painted. Mainly because of the shade from the cap, covering the sunlight from his face which did the trick.

"Theodore," Obadiah called, appearing out from the corner.

Max didn't turn to face him but answered, "Hm?" while still painting the walls.

"What would you like for dinner tonight? Fried chicken? Or grilled?"

The young mammal stopped and turned to his uncle. "Why not both?" he suggested. "We got enough pieces anyway, right?"

Obadiah snapped his fingers and pointed at him. "I like that. I'll make sure to do that."

Max smiled slightly with a nod before continuing to paint.

He may be occupied with painting, but his mind wasn't actually focusing so much. It has been a month since he's been in Vulper Island. And every day was meat, meat, meat. But of course, it'll either be bird or fish. But he just can't seem to shake the thought of it. While he was in Zootopia, he had never thought about eating. Much, that is. Then again… He was always busy back then… So he had no time to even think about eating a proper meal. He would even bring some energy bars with him on missions that would keep him awake. But ever since he stepped foot on this island… The air, the atmosphere, the food… Everything felt so different. Perhaps it is because the island wasn't so urban. He even thought that maybe this was what the countryside would feel like. It definitely looked like it. Of course, with a mixture of village-styled areas as well.

He didn't hate it, nor did he like it. But… Somehow it just feels natural for him. It was at this point that he figured he could really be born here just as what Ezekiel said. Up until now, he wasn't convinced he was the lost child that the Fangers mentioned. But, the others seem to really believe that he was. And if it was so, then he has a lot of explaining to do for Sophie once he gets home.

Sophie… Sophie Glace… His childhood friend.

His paws stopped moving the brush and it slowly lowered itself.

Before that, he remembered that Obadiah said that it was impossible for a prey and predator to have a child. Which is indeed true since it has never been proven. So how was she able to get pregnant on that day…?

His eyes now half closed and the pupils looking at the ground. He wanted to try to think and make sense of that situation. But it was hopeless to the point where he doesn't even realized he stopped thinking.

He gripped the paintbrush tighter and shook his head. He dipped the brush in the white paint and continued where he left off.

While painting, he was hoping for his hardest that Sophie tries her best in the future to give birth to their child. He wanted to see it… He wanted to know… He wanted to believe that it may really be possible for a predator and prey to have a child together. His child will be proof that predators and preys can indeed love each other.

Few hours have passed and Max was done with his chores. After a good bath and thorough scrubbing to rid of the paint off his fur, he decided to go to town while his uncle prepares dinner. Max has yet to actually tour the place. And this time, he was wearing gloves. This past 2 weeks has been him trying to owe up to his uncle's motel but now he was finally done with everything he could have been hit with.

While walking the streets of the town named Uranial Town, he stumbled upon a clothes shop. He looked up at the board above it. 'Sub Urban' it read. The word 'urban' brought his attention and he entered it with the bell chiming after him.

"Welcome," said a female donkey turning around to face him. But the moment she saw him, she froze. But managed to shake it off as Max browse through the clothes.

There were a lot of clothes that would indeed make one look from the city. However, a lot of them weren't for his taste.

He stopped when he saw something hanging from the wall. It was a black biker jacket. He pointed at that and turned to the cashier. "Can I see that?" he asked with an unintentional deep voice that sent the prey a shiver down her spine.

She nodded fearfully and grabbed a long stick with a hook at the end. The carefully taking the jacket down after grabbing the hook of the hanger.

Max looked at it from left to right, scanning the piece of clothing in his paws. He took off one glove and felt its leather. It was much thicker than his gloves. And the scales of the reptiles was a lot more revealing than them too.

Seeing his naked paw only backed the cashier a little from him.

The fox then raised it in the air and looked at every angle. The jacket was a beautiful piece and was a definite 100% made from the skins of a crocodile. The outer part of the sleeves and shoulders had rows of bony scales along them. The collar even hand the teeths of the crocodile at the end of them around it. Two zippers, one of either side next to the abdomen area. And a much thicker row of scales than the ones on the sleeve and shoulders were visibly running down the spine area. The inner part of the jacket was made of white fleece and it felt comfortable.

Max nodded and faced the cashier. "I'll take it," he said. But instead, he found her already at the counter with a forced smile.

"S-splendid!" she said, clapping her hooves together.

He placed it on the counter and took out his card. She looked at it carefully and looked at him with an apologetic face. "I'm sorry, sir," she said. "But I'm afraid we don't accept cards that are outside this island."

Realizing this, the fox sighed, lowering his head. "Figures…" he said, clenching his fists.

"B-but… If you like, you can always pay back," she said, after noticing his paw curled up.

Max looked up and shook his head. "I can't," he said, putting on his gloves. "Rules are rules."

"But it's okay, honestly…" she insisted, pushing the jacket towards him.

He looked at her. He knew this feeling… It was being feared of… And he just couldn't accept this…

He grabbed the donkey's hoof which she froze immediately and gasped. She even closed her eyes, ready of what she was expecting until…

"Please don't…" Max said, which got her to open her eyes. "I'm begging you… Don't be afraid of me… Not even to other predators… I especially can't accept something out of fear…"

She blinked and he let go, leaving the shop and cashier speechless.

As he exited, he took a deep breath with his head going up to the sky and let it out. He really wanted that jacket. It was the best one he has ever seen too. And he doesn't even remember if Zootopia even had something like that.

He shrugged and continued to walk and eventually arrived at a park. Though, it wasn't much of a park. More like, an abadoned playground.

Dried leaves were scattered on the ground. And multiple even. It's as if no one bothered raking them up. The playground sets were rusty and worn out. Even the railing was beginning to rust. However, even though the place looked messy, at least there wasn't a slight smell to it. Trees were dying, the fountain in the centre was the only one working. It would have looked wonderful if the paint wasn't starting to peel off though.

Max sat on a bench in front of it and sighed. The town looked horrible. Max sat with his legs wide opened, forearms on his thighs and head down. He looked up and saw something that caught his eyes that was across the other side of the park just outside the railing.

A group of sheep avoided walking pass a wolf who was looking at his phone. It didn't even notice them as they gave way for him. They had a look of fear before they let him pass them and eventually recovered and started whispering to each other about something.

The fox frowned at the sight and shook his head in disappointment. This island has yet to see equality.

As he was deep in thought, something was tossed on his head. He jumped a bit and picked the black object up. It was… The jacket that he wanted. He stared at the leather piece of clothing with a surprise look and then turned to the mammal who tossed it.

It was Maria Jelavic. The heterochromatic panther who was an old friend of Aoi and the daughter of Chief Natanya Jelavic of HERD.

"You wanted that, didn't you?" she said, with her left wrist on her hips. She was wearing a tan-colored overcoat with a white button-up long-sleeved shirt and a black skirt going down past her knees. She had a black purse with a long strap that was hanging around her left shoulder.

Max blinked a few times and looked at it. "Why'd you get it for me?" he asked, wanting to know the reason.

She sighed. "As thanks for helping HERD… And the Flock… And…" Her left paw on her hips lowered and she placed the other paw on her elbow shyly, blushing. "Thanks for saving Aoi too… During that pride situation…" she said, looking away when saying that. She turned to face him again this time with a serious look. "Happy?"

Max's ears moved a little and he looked at the piece of black leather. He rubbed it and squeezed it in his paw with a nod. "Yea…" he said. "Thanks…"

She smiled and crossed her arms. "So what's wrong?" she asked. "Did something bad happen? You look a little down."

The fox in question laid back on the bench and sighed. "Honestly… It's pretty boring… 2 weeks of no news of where the Hunters are… The chores that I get keep me busy though…"

She frowned. "Do you… Like killing…?" she asked, shaking a bit.

He looked at her and blinked once. He shook his head. "I don't know… I know that others say I'm Theodore Fanger that disappeared 20 years ago… But, I'm not really convinced if I really am that mammal." He paused for a moment and looked at his paw. "But part of me… I feel like it believes I really am that lost fox kit… The predators in the Fangers, they were… Abnormally huge and… Scary. It's almost as if that kind of thing runs in the family. Then, if that's so, maybe that would explain my own growth…"

The panther tilted her head and put her paw on her chin. "You look like a fox, but you definitely aren't the size of one."

Max nodded and took off his gloves, showing her his claws. "Ever seen claws like these?" he asked.

It was so sharp that they were shining visibly under the setting sun. And not just that, the claws has gotten larger.

Looking at the sharp organic blades on the fox's paw, the panther held her purse strap in fear.

Max's ears lowered and he looked down in apology. "Sorry…" he said, putting on his glove back on.

"Ah, no!" she said, stepping forward. "It's just that… Your claws aren't scary. But… For some reason, my body just… Moved by itself." Which was true. She didn't even realize it until now. It's almost as if her instincts kicked in the moment she saw his claws pointing directly at her.

His ears moved left and right again and nodded. "I see," he said. "So it's by reflex. Glad I was wearing my gloves then…" He raised up the jacket in his paw and smiled at the female panther. "Thank you."

She smiled back and nodded at him. "If it's possible… Please protect Aoi…? He can get carried away sometimes… Especially when he loses someone who he cares for…"

Max stood up. "No problem. I'll be sure nothing bad happens to any of them. You have my word."

She sighed in relief. "Thank you…" she said. She checked her watch and clicked her tongue. "I have to go. I have cram school in a few minutes. Thanks again." She ran past him without another word.

Max turned back for a few seconds before he focused on his side on returning home.

But what he didn't realize was that Maria glanced at him, carefully observing him before he was out of sight. " _He looks so normal…_ " she thought. " _Yet…_ " She began remembering what she saw back at HERD HQ. His brutality back at the Prideful Stay was what she was very wary of. She was one of the mammals that bear witness to Max's savage massacre the other day.

Elias Vulperus had a camera on his right eye socket which was how everyone at HERD managed to behold of the bloody sight that happened. _EVERYONE_ … It was something that the witness can only describe as… 'Nature at its cruelest'. And Max's display was proof mercy is not always optional.

Maria even hesitated talking to him earlier. But, after the conversation, she managed to see even the slightest good in him. Of course, if he weren't in battle that is.

As soon as the two began to get further from each other, she turned back to focus on her way to cram school, forgetting about what was going through her mind earlier.

The following day went by in a flash. We now focus on the Flock who just woke up in the morning past 8 o'clock. They were all standing up, dragging their feet like zombies as they prepare breakfast. The water was being boiled, leftovers being taken out of the refrigerator then reheated, and the laptop was turned on, facing in their direction in case another job came up.

But lately, just like Max, there hasn't been any case of the Hunters for 2 weeks. And because of that, the income was tight for the first half of the month.

"Seriously…" Stephen groaned, resting his cheek on his hoof while his noodles-in-a-cup was being boiled. "What's up with this month…? I really need the money now…"

"Can't complain," Rodriguez answered, taking out a turkey leg from the fridge and heating it up in the microwave. "Besides… Didn't you say you wanted to catch a break?"

"I said I wanted lazing around to be a job. I would have been a success if that happened."

"Shit happens, Stephen…" Joanne said, taking pieces of bread and eating it with her coffee next to her. "Mom and dad aren't here anymore to pamper you…"

Her brother laughed lightly after his noodles were finally cooked.

"But isn't it good?" Aoi said with a smile, unwrapping a burger. "I really like eating as a family."

Stephen nodded while Joanne didn't respond. She wanted to, but she wasn't so open with her feelings even though the group has gotten closer than before.

"I guess it's not so bad…" Wright said, sitting down at the table after he pulled out some orange juice from the fridge. "We really don't eat together much like this so peacefully after all…" He turned to the corner of the wall where Vulperus was standing and staring blankly without blinking. "Want something to eat?"

"No," the fox answered tonelessly.

"Figures… Your stomach was pulled out recently too…"

"I don't require anything to digest anymore," Vulperus continued. "Even before it was pulled out."

"I was being sarcastic…"

Vulperus answered with silence which leads to the buck to sigh.

"You'll get your protein once we're done," he said.

A beep sounded on the laptop and Rodriguez answered it first. "You're through," he said. "Talk to us."

" _We have report of a body found_ ," said the other side.

Everyone quietly ate their meal while listening.

" _This time it's different. Unlike the usually hunting, the preys will be left hanging. Some barely survived, and some didn't make it because of blood loss. This has been happening for the past 2 weeks now._ "

Everyone, except for Aoi, choked on their food and began coughing. The ferret looked up curiously, not knowing what happened. Not knowing so much that a question mark even popped up above his head as he blinked innocently with chubby cheek because of his mouth full.

"2 weeks?!" Wright replied, trying to breathe correctly while beating his chest. "Why didn't this come out first?!"

" _At first we didn't know if it was a Hunter case. None of the dead one was even eaten. And the ones alive said that they were suddenly attacked from behind and they found themselves there. But one of them managed to take a glimpse of it. It was definitely a Hunter. The victim said they saw brown arm braces and a canine. No other specific details. The last thing she heard were running footsteps getting further away from her while she was hanging on a crane._ "

Wright clicked his tongue and shook his head. "So? You need us now?"

" _Not yet. I just called to tell you this. We received the last one yesterday. Until we get another, we'll be in touch. So in the meantime, keep all your eyes peel._ "

The call cut off with a short static sound being made.

"Seriously…" Stephen said. "What is wrong with them? Is there even any murder case that isn't even involve with the Hunters?"

"Actually, there are," Rodriguez answered, biting on his turkey leg. "Just not often."

"Then it only gives a bigger chance to make it a Hunter case. Jeez…" The black goat turned on the television with the remote control and put it down. The morning news were on and a male gazelle in a suit, in front of the camera appeared on the screen.

" _And an unidentified body was found hanging on the telephone lines just this morning_ ," said the gazelle. " _Police are still investigating whether if this was an accident or murder. We will now hear the thought of the one who found the body, Ronald McLaughlin._ " The camera pan out and showed a hyena in a tracksuit being passed the microphone to.

" _Yes_ ," the hyena said. " _I found it hanging on that telephone line right there."_ He pointed at a loosely attached line from the pole. _"I was about to head out to go for my daily jog. And then while heading outside, I saw that sheep's body was right there and that's when I called the police. I don't know who did it, but that is just terrible…_ "

The moment the word 'who' was heard, everyone's head, except Aoi and Vulperus', raised.

"'Who?'" Stephen said. "Didn't that gazelle said it was still being investigated to see if it was an accident?"

"I know…" Wright mumbled. "Not to mention… Hyenas are canines, right…?"

"He… Could be a Hunter…" Joanne said.

Everyone went dead silent until the the buck sighed. "Screw waiting for HERD's orders," he said. "We'll see to it ourselves. We might even get a bonus for handling it."

Everyone nodded and began eating their food in a hurry.

"Rodriguez," Wright called. "You got the kid's number right? Tell him we're starting our own mission."

The arctic wolf nodded and sent an email to 'the kid' as the team prepared out. Everyone readied out their weapons and equipment and Wright injected some protein into Vulperus. He headed out with the team obediently without saying a word.

As the team moved out, a signal began functioning in the chief office of HERD. Jelavic notice the signal moving and sighed, sitting back into her chair. Footsteps can be heard making their way to the door and a jackal, Otto, entered.

"Ma'am," he greeted, bowing after he stepped foot into the room. "Flock is on the move without our orders."

"Leave them," she said. "They must have heard the news and decided to do their own job. Well… If they actually find a Hunter and exterminate it, then it won't matter. That IS their job after all. As long as they understand the condition. Very good work at bugging their van, Otto."

"I've already thought that one day they might go off on their own. If I may, ma'am… What about… Max Zero…? You said you were willing to make one of the Hunters an exception?"

"No, Otto. He never said anything about the Hunters as exception. He is correct after all. Angel Fanger is not a Hunter and that is indeed a fact. The proof was that she didn't even fight back against Subject V."

"Maybe because she didn't have a Sabre Blades."

"Perhaps. But don't forget, Otto. Hunters are very resourceful. They will use anything to kill and fight even with their own bodies. But that vixen didn't even once tried to get close. Therefore… I can make her as an exception."

"But what if she will kill one day?"

She turned to the jackal and smiled. "Mr. Zero said that her request was to be killed by him and him only. So he told me if the time ever comes, we should rely on him. He even said to wire the money to Flock if it ever happens. Such a modest mammal…"

"He is dangerous still…"

"I know he is… But, maybe it's a good thing. What I still don't understand was what Mayor Fanger said about him…"

Otto stepped forward. "What _DID_ Mayor Fanger say…?"

She raised one paw up and sharpened her nails on it while looking out the window of her office. "He said… That his son ate his own mother… And that he wasn't a predator…"

"That's… Rather horrifying… And confusing…"

"It is… But if he isn't a predator… Then that would explain his irregular behavior than those of the normal primitive side of one…"

"What do you mean?"

She stayed quiet for a moment then shook her head. "It's nothing… It's just that… You should know yourself. What primitive predators' behaviors are like."

"Ah, I see. They hunt and then eat."

She nodded. "But yet… He didn't seem like he had the thought of eating… No… He wasn't primitive… It was more like he was embracing something…" She placed a finger on her chin. "I wonder though…"

With HERD and Flock have business of their own, so did the Fangers…

In an unknown area in what seemed like a bunker, lay a tiger in a queen size bed, Ezekiel Fanger. He was comfortably laying there while looking at something in his laptop. He scratched his chin as he read the title of the news article: "MULTIPLE BODIES LEFT HANGING. MANY SURVIVED BUT THE OTHERS GONE."

"What's wrong?" said a female voice on the other side of the wall facing the front side of the bed.

"It's nothing," he said. "It's just some news of hanging bodies. Apparently a lot of them survived. But the dead ones aren't even eaten."

"How can you tell?"

"Because there's not a single report of a missing prey." He scratched his chin again, this time was clearly heard. "Maybe this one is hesitating…"

"What are you gonna do then?"

He closed his laptop and put it away on the drawer that was next to him and sat up. "Nothing for now." He stood up. "Angel comes first. Only then I'll figure something out." He took a deep breath and moaned after sensing a delightful smell coming from the other side. "What're you making?"

"Fried venison," said Michelle whose head popped up from the other side of the wall, holding a spatula. "And there's plenty even after Sarah comes home."

Ezekiel laughed and stretched his back. "Well it's nice that someone is at least continuing this tradion."

"True… But I'm more worried about Angel…"

The tiger smirked and placed his paws behind his wife's shoulders. "She'll be fine… Theodore already handled the problem. Anyway, about lunch later…"

Before all this happened, we go back to 4 days ago where Max was in the garage where his bike was being kept, customizing his mask with the tools he bought these past 2 weeks. He bought some paints, a scraper, a vise and some brushes.

He has been working for 3 days with it. Max's mask was a special kind that he used during his days as a criminal. The mask was made of metal with a plain design and over it was another mask made of plastic acting as the plating. Before that, his mask was a plain white with red and black stripes design. The design was inspired by his time in Japan when meeting the Kitsunes. And he has been taking a liking to it. However, because he was in Vulper Island, he decided to change the theme of it.

With the colors of the plastic plating bleached, Max decided to go for a more realistic look. He scrapped lines on it and even make them look like actually stitches. Whenever he over-scraped, he improvised by making it look like scars. After finishing with the marks, he sprayed the mask in black paint and leave it to dry for the next 24 hours.

And it was more than 24 hours the moment he remembered about his mask. When he returned, the plating shone a brightly under the light in jet black. He looked at it, inside and out. Not a single part missed. He sighed, a little relief that he was careful with it. He sat back down on the bench and took a brush. Then he sprayed the red paint on the brush as he carefully painted the scrapped parts.

The mask was beginning to look more realistic. The red part was painted on the dents that look like stitches and scars. And it didn't take him long to finally finish it. He carefully tried not to touch the red part and put it on his face. The vision was clear just as always.

He placed the mask down and stretched his arm, finally finishing his job. But as he was observing his finished hardwork, he spotted a couple of things on the table. Two tail light pieces from a car.

He picked them up and looked at them carefully. The shape looked rather familiar. He turned back to his mask and positioned the two pieces on the eye holes. It was a pefect match.

He disassembled them into tiny pieces, seperating the red pieces from the main part and welded on the mask from the inside. Sure enough, it was a perfect match.

Max looked at it in awe. It was simply glorious. The mask was black that looked like it had red scars on it. And it was more fitting with the red visors as eyes.

He smiled at it and left it on the table for the rest of the paint to dry as he waited for the day to use it. And that day is today…

With the Flock outside a junkyard, they decided to wait for the mammal they called in to help them by occupying themselves a bit. The team was snoozing off while waiting. However, Rodriguez and Vulperus were the only ones awake. The wolf was reading a book while the dead fox stood in his seat without blinking motionlessly.

The sound of a motorcycle engine was heard behind the van as it makes its way towards the immobile vehicle.

The roarin engine woke everyone up and Max parked next to the van with his visor up. "You called?" he asked.

The deer sighed and opened his eyes. "I was almost falling asleep too…" he said. He turned to the fox on the bike. "We have our suspicions on someone who could be a Hunter."

"But you have no proof of it yet?"

"Just a suspicion… It sounded like he knew something about today's news."

"The one with the hanging body on the telephone line? I heard about it."

"Well… This is the guy's place… And we thought maybe you could sniff him out."

Max placed his arms on the handles of his bike. "Since when have I become an errand fox?" Nobody said a word. The young fox sighed and removed his helmet, walking to the large dual-gate to the entrance of the junkyard.

He looked up and then left and right. The gates was half the height of a giraffe's and on top of them were barbed wires, preventing anyone from climbing. A chain was locked around the bars, preventing further intrusions. However, it was one the wrong thing to do as Max was an expert at lockpicking. If he still wasn't rusted that is.

He pulled the chain around, getting the lock to the other side and knelt on one knee before taking out some tools from his new jacket that was gifted yesterday. There were two hairpins in his gloved paws. One on each. One was a straight blunt pin and the other with a bendy and sharp tip.

He put the two of them together inside the keyhole and began to slowly move his fingers.

"What're you doing?" a sudden voice was heard.

The fox shuddered a bit and turned around to see Joanne standing behind him with crossed arms. "Lockpicking," he answered.

"I didn't know you could do that."

"It's a long story…"

A silence fell between the two of them and the only thing that can be heard were clicks and clacks from the lock.

"Cool jacket," Joanne started another topic off.

The fox glanced for a moment and nodded. "Thanks," he said. "It was a gift from someone."

"Someone important?"

His head shook. "Not to me. But to someone else."

She nodded. "Well, it looks good on you. It really does."

"Oh? Isn't it bad to flirt with an enemy?"

"I wasn't flirting! And besides… You aren't an enemy anyway…"

He took a peek behind him for a while and snickered. "Well, you're pretty yourself," he complimented back.

"Was that sarcasm?!"

"Looks like she's having fun," Rodriguez said, looking out at the two.

The group, besides Vulperus, looked out to see the white goat and red fox talking. They could clearly hear them and Stephen chuckled when he saw his sister's reaction. "Don't tell me she's fallen for the guy," he said.

"Seems like it…" Wright said, leaning his cheek on one hoof.

Aoi frowned in confusion and tapped Stephen's shoulder. "Did Max do something wrong?" he asked.

The black goat shook his head. "Nope," he answered. "She's just having a complicated feeling is all."

"What's that?"

Stephen placed a hoof on the ferret's head and rubs it. "Like I said, complicated. In short, we shouldn't ask since we have no idea."

The lock opened with one last click and the chain was released from it.

"Got it," Max proclaimed pulling off the chain. He inserted his paw through the bars of the gates and slid the gate lock opened.

Joanne waved at the group, signifying that the entrance was available.

The team picked up their gear and hers that she left in the van along with them, entering the junkyard without any permissions.

While the Flock began their own investigation, two police officers, both of them antelopes in uniforms, were making their way to a farmhouse that was in front of them. Just outside the house was a hyena in a tracksuit sitting on the porch eating a sandwich. But only one bite was taken out of the sandwich as the predator looked down.

"Excuse me," said one of them, taking out his badge and showing it to him. "Do you have some free time, sir?"

The hyena looked up with trembling paws and nodded. "Yes…" he answered.

"We're with the police. We'd like to ask you a few questions. You deliver newspaper around town, is that right?"

The predator nodded again.

"By any chance, were you at the scene of where the hanging body was this morning?"

The hyena dropped his sandwich and placed a paw on his head, clenching his teeth with saliva being drooled.

"Sir?"

Returning to the Flock, the group split up individually and began looking for any signs of crime. They were many crates around the place and broken machines were scattered all over whether they would be in pieces or still intact.

"I'm surprise there's a junkyard here even," Max commented, while searching and going high and low.

"Why?" Aoi asked.

He shrugged. "Didn't think that there are junks on islands, I guess. Or rather, this is the only island that's so urban to this level."

"What is it like for other islands?"

Max opened up many doors from any broken electronics as he answered. "The only island I've been to is Hawaii… They're at least civilized and respectful mammals…"

"What does that make us then?" Rodriguez cut in after overhearing the conversation of his fellow predators.

Max looked at him and averted his sight away without an answer. For some reason, he had a feeling a fight will be taking place if he would have continued.

While staying quiet to avoid the question, Max tilted his head when he touched the led of a chest freezer. It was warm… He opened it up and averted his sight immediately with wide eyes.

"Guys…?" he called out.

Everyone made their way to him. What they saw was a grey hare being cryogenized. The body was frozen and was still perserved even. But no sign of breathing at all.

The sight of the frozen prey reminded Max of… Someone important.

His thoughts were snapped when a ringtone began to come into play afterwards. It came from Wright's phone in his pocket. Without a second thought, he answered it and turned on the speaker for everyone to hear.

"Talk to me."

" _We got a situation_ ," said the other end of the call. " _A Hunter this time. Hyena._ "

"We know. We're already here."

" _Unfortunately, you're not._ "

Everyone turned to the direction on the phone.

" _Sending coordinates to your GPS now._ "

"What the hell…" the deer commented. "Then what is up with the body…?"

"Maybe it's the same guy?" Joanne suggested. "We didn't see any signs of anyone here too."

"Could be…" He tapped his chin a couple of times and decided. "Then we should split. Since we got confirmation on the Hunter, Rodriguez, Stephen, Vulperus and I will go after it. Joanne and Aoi should keep scouting the place until we have proof."

Without being included, Max rushed to his motorcycle already and zipped up his jacket before heading towards the location after taking a peek from the van's GPS. The team that was heading towards the same direction as him followed along with the other two being left behind to continue the ongoing investigation.

As the group make their way to the target, the hyena began pummeling the two antelope officers to the point where their snouts were terribly bent. But the hyena has never once used his blades to cut the two preys. He carried one of them up and tossed one on the fence, hanging him as he bled out. He turned to the other one who was crawling away. But as he was about to attack, a roar was heard and before he could react, Max ran him over with his bike, causing the grey fur predator to fly off to the other side.

The roar was actually the sound of Theta's engine. Max removed his helmet quickly after braking his bike and pulled the hanging prey down with the other antelope making his way to his partner.

"Get out of here," the fox warned, before focusing on the opponent. He pulled off his mask that was hanging on his belt loop. Putting it on and fastening the straps on his head. He blinked to test the sight. Clear as day.

He walked slowly to the hyena and let him attack first. Predicting this, Max blocked the attack with his forearm, flicking the fist away and sent multiple blows on his chest and abs repeatedly. But it didn't last long until the hyena stepped aside, dodging one of the blows and grabbing him by the arm. With the opponent focusing on his arm, Max kicked his knee, slipping the hyena down and kicked him in the face.

But failed.

The hyena managed to roll away before his face could get damaged.

And just in the nick of time, the Flock who came from the other side ran into the target with their van, sending the hyena flying the second time today, almost hitting Max.

"Shit!" Max said, taking a step back from the flying enemy. He turned to the driver, Rodriguez. "Watch where you're going."

Everyone headed out of the van.

"Vulperus, do your thing," Wright said, raising his pistol. He glanced at Max. "Nice mask."

Max shrugged and nodded as thanks.

The dead fox stepped out of the van and looked at the hyena. "Target confirmed," he reported. After saying that, the blades on the side of his arms unleashed as he make his way towards the mutual target and puts on a muzzle.

Max went to make for the first move by doing a cartwheel kick only to be dodged. But Vulperus side kicked the hyena when he dodged the attack. The two foxes were in full sync with their attacks. But it was more like a random lucky guess of fighting coordination.

Max would slash and then it was evaded but Vulperus always gets the attack, followed again by Max with a punch in the face. They would even switch up the attacks like using their elbows or knees to their advantage to confuse their enemy. However, using the same tactic was fruitless as the hyena have already read their moves.

Instead of dodging the attacks, he absorbed it and deflected it, went for the same kind of attacks they were doing to him and it was working. Against Max that is.

But Vulperus was resourceful. He dodged all of the punches by rotating his body left and right repeatedly and kicked at the back side of the hyena's head.

The fight went long until they reached the barnyard of the residence, where many bloody carcasses and a heavily foul odor was set free into the open. They two preys, Wright and Stephen, covered their nose and even almost vomit. It can't be help. They were preys after all. And the smell of blood was too much for them.

Max saw a sickle being stuck on a pillar and pulled it off, holding it in the air as he prepared his attack. He was waiting for an opportunity to strike and he waited there patiently like his kind hunting fishes back in ancient times.

The hyena and Vulperus kept fighting on without remorse. And when the dead fox knelt down after getting kicked to the gut, Max stepped forward, using his back as a stepping stool and impaled the tip of the sickle into the hyena's shoulder as deeply as he can.

The hyena yelled in pain, holding on the outer part of the sickle with one paw before it was forcefully pulled out, tearing his muscles and almost ripping off his arm.

Max breathed heavily as he watched his target held on to the wound and fallen to the ground.

The hyena looked to his left to find a pile of meat on some haystack. He stretched his uninjured arm to reach for it.

Max looked in disgust and raised the sickle in the air, about to deliver the finishing blow until… Something caught his attention.

The hyena clenched his paw into a fist on his stretched arm and pulled back, shutting his mouth tightly and looking away. He was beginning to shake with his eyes almost shutting. He didn't seem like he want to eat, but he needed to. He even shook his head and rest his fist on the ground as if saying he's accepted his fate.

Max blinked and lowered the weapon.

Everyone noticed this. Especially Vulperus. The dead fox began walking towards him and pushed him aside.

"Move," he said, about to finish the target off himself.

But before he could do anything, the hyena kicked his arm away and ran with all four legs on the ground through a small panel door on the wall that was leading to the other side.

The Flock quickly went to the same entrance as the hyena but the panel door was now tightly shut.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Wright said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's automated…" Rodriguez said, looking at it. "A chip reader… He must have planted one on him just in case apparently…"

The deer clicked his tongue in disappointment and faced the fox who was still holding the sickle. "Hey," he called out. "What happened there?"

Max dropped the sickle and shook his head. "It was nothing…" he answered, taking off his mask. He sighed and exited the barn. But before he could even take a step out, he was pulled back on the shoulder by Vulperus.

"Why did you hesitate?" asked the animated carcass.

It took a while for him to find an answer. "I don't think he was much of a Hunter."

"He was clearly attacking those two antelopes without thinking."

Max shook his head. "But why didn't he kill them straight on?" He turned back to the outside of the barn. "I wanna know why." He shove Vulperus' paw away and walked out.

The rest of the Flock watched along with Vulperus as the young fox headed out in search for the escaping hyena.

Returning back to Aoi and Joanne… The two were walking around the place for a long time and they have found two more bodies hidden from car trunks and a broken dryer. Not one was breathing and as they kept searching, the ferret found something.

He waved his arms from side to side to call in the white goat. There was a shack deep within the junkyard. It was quiet too and if night were to fall it would look as if it came out from some horror movie like Friday the 13th.

The shack had worn out boards and even had grime on the the rim of the roof. A fishing net was hanging on the corner of the roof and the wood looked corroded. The door was the only thing that looked new. It was made out of steel and just outside the entrance, a small flight of wooden stairs led to the front door.

Joanne took the first step slowly and carefully. But it was still enough to creak. She easily turned the doorknob slowly to her surprise and pushed the door in. But as it moves, a loud screech can be heard. Maybe the door wasn't so new after all. She peeked inside and motioned her hoof for Aoi to enter along.

Inside the shack, it looked more like a storeroom. A small storeroom. There were a lot of shelves and the only bedroom-kind of equipments were the worktable and a mattress on the floor with the blanket lousily left there without being made. The pillow was also out of place and foods and snacks were scattered around the bedding.

But other than that, it looked like a regular place. Dumbbells were placed next to the table. Clothes were hanging from the shelves with the fan facing towards them while running to dry it off. And a television which was hanging by the corner on the ceiling, closest to the table. Many books of different kinds of subject was placed horribly on the shelves. There were even a few that was left open on the table and next to the bed.

"Looks like nobody's here…" Joanne said.

"Should we just leave?"

Joanne looked around and then nudged Aoi on the arm. She pointed on the flooring and there was a trapdoor there, by the furthest corner from the entrance. The trapdoor was made out of rusted metal and was the only thing out of place from the wooden flooring.

"We should check that out first before we go," Joanne suggested.

Aoi frowned and looked around in worry. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Then you don't have to follow me. Let me check it while you stay here."

Aoi didn't say anything but tightened up his lips.

Joanne pulled the handle to the trapdoor and looked inside. It was too dark but a ladder can be seen leading down. She turned on the lights on her helmet and slowly climbed down as Aoi looked on.

The moment she touched the ground, a splash can be heard. Her hooves got wet and there was a strong smell coming from the inside too.

"What is this…?" she said covering her nose.

"Did you find anything?" Aoi called out.

She didn't say anything and moved forward. She squinted her eyes as something finally came into play. Barrels were placed in front of her, leading to a dead end. One of them was leaking out petroleum that she stepped in earlier. That would explain the smell.

Suddenly…

Aoi yelled as he fell down.

Joanne turned around quickly, noticing the falling predator. "Aoi!" she called out.

But before she could get to him, a burning stick of paper fell from the trapdoor and began flaming the fuel inside the underground tunnel. The last thing the two members of Flock saw was darkness and the only light they could see was making its way to the barrels in the end.

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

There's nothing wrong in trusting others even after they betray you. Eventually, kindness will kill them and they will change their heart instead. That's why, always take the path you decided long ago and never lose yourself. By losing yourself, you lose the meaning of your life.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** **(High Unexpectation)** With the target nowhere insight and the two remaining Flock members in jeopardy, how will the outcome be? Max discovers there were more to the Hunters than he expected and prepares to make a decision that will change his relationship with the Flock. Will they accept the way he is or will they turn on him?

* * *

 **A/N:** I got nothing to say here. See you next chapter. Again, I apologize for such a long update.

OCs that appear

Elias Vulperus belongs to Elias Nick

Daniel Rodriguez belongs to Frost8423

Maria Jelavic belongs to otaku shoujo but Natanya is mine

Aoi belongs to an unknown guest user


	8. High Unexpectation

**A/N:** _Alright, at least this one didn't take long. Let's get on with it._

 **Disclaimer:** _Please read previous chapters to refer to._

 **Last chapter: (Gambling Trust)** _After the escape of a Hunter, Max went on his way to find the target. But what he was about to attack with was questions. Meanwhile, Aoi and Joanne are trapped underground that's about to go out with a boom._

* * *

Max rode his bike into the forest. He parked his bike in a visible walkway and removed his headgear while starting to sniff around. There wasn't a clear scent so he decided to walk into the dense area by himself.

And while doing so, he sensed a familiar scent. A little too familiar…

"It's not nice interrupting someone else's meal, you know," said someone behind him.

He turned around after he heard some footsteps along with the dried up leaves that was being crunched on the ground. A large orange predator with stripes walked up to him with a smile. Ezekiel Fanger…

Max turned his body completely. "Finally decided to show yourself, huh…?" He pulled out his mask.

But Ezekiel raised a paw to stop him. "Easy there," he said. "I'm not hunting now. Because of some… Issue, I don't think I'll be able to hunt anyway now that everyone knows who I am."

The fox lowered his paw and hanged his mask back onto his belt hoops. "Then? Why are you here?"

"Before I answer that, please answer this: Why didn't you just kill Janda earlier?"

Max frowned his confusion.

"Ah, my bad. Janda was that hyena you and the Flocks were trying to kill. But yet… You didn't finish him off. Switching sides, is it?"

"Don't be mistaken… He… Didn't look like a threat… That's why I hesitated. I _WILL_ kill him for sure this time."

The tiger arched his head back and sighed. "Fair enough." He looked back at his supposed son. "Now, I will answer your question. The hanging bodies, in case you don't know, it's not his doing."

Max's face began relaxing as he kept hearing Ezekiel out.

"There is no way a Hunter would just leave bodies like that. If you'd like to know, this case happened 3 years ago too. It wasn't a serious case since nobody died. I already did my own investigation. And I can confirmed that a Hunter didn't do that."

"Then… The body in the junkyard…"

"Huh? Not my problem. If it doesn't concern my kind, then I'm not bothering." He turned around. "By the way, boy…" He continued without looking at Max. "I wasn't lying when I said you ate your mother."

Max froze, tightening his fist.

He glanced behind him and smiled. "And I couldn't be more proud." With that said, he walked away.

Max looked down, and trembled. The only thing he could hear was his heart beating. He grabbed his head and leaned a paw on a tree to keep himself balanced while trying to breathe properly. His claws marked the bark with a screech. He planted a fist on it as his knees began to grow weak.

But eventually, he regained his composure and took deep breaths. He decided to think about it later. Right now, the current Hunter comes first.

Raising his head up, he found Ezekiel now gone and returned to his search for the missing Hunter.

 **Zero Residence, Zootopia**

Sophie was busy, reading some of Max's mangas with a frown of interest. She was currently reading one called 'Berserk'. Every time when she flips the next page, her expression would change. It was all random. She would be surprise. She would be curious until she would even lean forward. She would pay attention to each panels with wide eyes. What she was more interested were the characters and especially the enemies which matches the ones from Dark Souls.

Her eyes would traced each word in the speech bubbles from right to left. Without realizing, stacks of the 'Berserk' manga began piling up with each volume she completed reading.

However, she was so focus on the book to the point where she didn't hear the doorbell. But after a few more rings, she raised her head and looked at the growing stacks.

"Oh my…" she said to herself, after realizing how long she has been reading. She put the book down after placing a pen as a bookmark on the page and stood up slowly as she makes her way to the door. She opened the door and smiled. "Welcome," she greeted.

There, standing in front of her, a red vixen that was almost the same height as her but taller. Her eyes were brown and they looked familiar. A pair of tiny fangs were barely visibly shown. She was wearing a long-sleeved white buttoned shirt with a black vest and a pair of trousers that went all the way under her knees. She stood there with a red bag hanging on her shoulder as she looked down at the hare.

"Is… This the Zeros…?" she asked.

Sophie's ears drooped down. "Yes… This is."

A smile slowly formed on the predator's face. She looked at the hare again but what caught her attention was the appearance of the owner of the place. Her belly was growing slowly. It was clear now that Sophie was pregnant.

"You… Really are pregnant…" she muttered.

Sophie tilted her head and smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry… But… Do I know you?" she asked as politely as she can.

The guest shook her head. "But I know you," she answered. She placed a paw on her chest. "I'm Teddy's sister, Angel… You know him as Max…" She gave the sweetest smile she could.

Sophie's grip on the handle loosened. Her nose twitched a little and looked at the fox in front of her. "You're… Max's sister…?"

Angel nodded. "It's finally nice to meet…" Her sentence was cut short from one word when Sophie hugged her.

"I have a sister!" she cheerfully commented.

The vixen awkwardly laughed and patted the hare on the head.

Sophie looked at her again and examined. She really did look like Max but not so much. Her eyes were the ones that truly matches his. And unlike his fangs and claws, hers wasn't as revealing as his.

She opened the door wider and pulled her in. "Come in!" she welcomed with a bright smile.

After entering, Angel felt a calm aura around her. She looked around the urban style living room and stared in awe. Her eyes shifted slowly in different direction. She then looked out the glass wall. It was a view of downtown from above and it was just a magnificent sight to behold.

She leaned closer and placed a paw on the glass while looking down with amazement.

"You should see when it's night," Sophie said, making some tea.

Angel turned around and looked at the living room, being as detailed as she can. She then spotted the stacks of manga that was piled up by Sophie from reading earlier and grabbed a volume.

She opened the book and looked into the pages filled with pictures, panels and speech bubbles.

"Sorry," Sophie said, bringing the tea. "I was reading it and I didn't put them away properly." After putting the tray with the tea and cups down, she began picking up the books and even the one off of Angel's paw and put them on the speaker next to the flat screen television on the wall. She sat on the couch and offered Max's sister a seat next to her.

Angel sat hesitantly. Every time she looked at Sophie, her eyes would be on her stomach.

"Here you go," Sophie said, putting the cup of tea with a saucer on Angel's end.

Angel smiled. "Thank you…" she said.

Sophie then positioned herself in a formal way. "Can you tell me about Max?" she asked. "What was he like?"

Angel chuckled. "He was still a baby when he disappeared. So there's nothing much to tell."

"There's gotta be something, right?"

Angel looked at the hare. She had such a bright smile. A smile that was so bright, one would forget how cruel the world was. And who would have thought the one that belongs to her was her younger brother. The vixen smiled back and thought for a moment. She sighed.

"How much do you love Teddy?" she asked.

"Teddy?" Sophie tapped her chin a few times before she remembered. "Oh, you mean Max! How much…?" She poked both her index fingers on each other. "Very much… Since we were kits… Well…" She tapped her lap. "It was just a crush at first. But after we met last year, I can guarantee it was love."

Angel's smile turned into a tender one. "And your child… His child as well… Will you love it no matter what?"

Sophie nodded. "With all my heart just as I do for him."

The vixen's head lowered and the smile disappeared. "If I tell you about him, will you still love him?"

Sophie moved her body to face Angel and nodded again. "Even if he kills me, I would still love him."

Angel could only blink and then she nodded with a smile of confidence this time. "Very well, then." She turned away and took a sip of her tea. "Do you know… That it's impossible for a prey and predator to have a child?"

The hare's ears drooped. She swallowed and nodded slowly. "I do… That's why… I'm surprise I was even pregnant…"

The vixen turned to her slowly. "That's because Teddy is not a predator…"

Sophie was speechless hearing this. She shook her head a bit. "But… No… He's definitely a fox…" She felt a paw placed on her head. She looked up to see Angel looked at her with an apologetic expression.

"It's true… He's not a predator…"

Sophie looked down, unable to face what she just heard. But it didn't end there.

"He's not a prey as well…"

With those words joined up together, she raised her head again.

"But he's still a mammal. You're proof that he can still love. That's why, I trust you. That you would love him no matter what."

Sophie stared at her in the eyes without blinking. She shook her head and slapped her cheeks lightly. She nodded once. "If he's not a predator, nor a prey…" She looked up at the vixen. "What is he then?"

Angel shook her head. "I don't know… Daddy only told me that part and nothing more… I was just happy that I have a little brother, honestly…"

"Little?!" Sophie proclaimed which shocked the guest a bit. Her ears stood still and she looked at the vixen's height, then remembered about Max's. "You're… Shorter than him though."

Angel blinked once and then bit her lips to hold in her laughter but failed. "Ironic, isn't it? He's the youngest out of all of us too. Perhaps all those adventures really have turned him into a fine male."

"I agree," Sophie laughed. "Ah!" She snapped her fingers. "We never did properly do introductions. I'm Sophie Glace, Max's childhood friend."

"Well… You'll be Sophie Zero one day."

"N-Now's not the time to talk about that!"

Angel giggled while placing a paw on her lips. "Well, I'm Angel Sibyl Fanger," she replied. "I'm glad to finally meet my future sister-in-law."

"I told you I didn't wanna talk about that now!" Sophie's face started to get red.

The vixen giggled again and this time, the hare joined along.

"I'm glad though… That Max actually met his real family… Thank goodness…"

"Actually…" Angel looked out the window. "He wasn't… Do you know what's going on over there?"

Sophie shook her head. "I want to know. But Max promise that when he gets home, he'll tell me himself. That's why… I don't think it's right if I know now. I'll wait until he gets back. I believe in him…" She returned to her posture and sip on her cup of tea.

Angel looked at her reflection in the tea. "You know Teddy more than anyone…" she commented. "I… I wanna know what was he like. I never got to see him grow up after all…"

Sophie blinked and smiled, after remembering her time with him. "He's sweet… He's thoughtful… But he's definitely not a good mammal. If I have to say it in a single word about him, I would say… Trustworthy."

"'Trustworthy…' Why?"

"Because he's never lied in his life. He isn't afraid to show what he thinks of others. He's always considerate when something serious is happening. He even knew the consequences and was willing to do it anyway. I don't know so much about what he did, since he just tells me story of them. But… I think because Max is more… Open to the world."

Angel's ears drooped down as she slowly put her cup down. She turned to face the hare. "What about you?"

Sophie looked down and shook her head. "I've never lived a hard life like him… So I don't know…"

The vixen grabbed her paws which got the prey to look up at her. Angel smiled and rubbed her future sister-in-law's head. "But you're happy that you met him right? He's very lucky to have someone who he can be with."

Sophie stared at her and sniffed. She wiped her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. "Sorry…" she said with a weak smile. "But yes… You're right. And I'm lucky to have him around… I can't cook after all."

Angel laughed.

 **Returning to the junkyard in Vulper Island**

Just outside the shack that was smoking, a hyena in a tracksuit was looking in his reflection on a worn out car window while doing some jabbing movements. He moved his arms slowly and steadily. It was the move of a boxer and the speed of yoga altogether. His feet hopped lightly on a single spot with his back hunched to get a good fighting stance.

After a few jabs in the air, he stood up straight. "Wonder how they're doing now," he said. He walked towards the shack and picked up a crowbar that was leaning on the car.

As he was about to enter, the spot on the ground where he was standing earlier began to rise. He turned around, hearing the sound of digging from underground and a pair of claws have risen from the ground. It began digging some more where it eventually made a large hole.

Joanne hopped out of the hole and coughed as she struggled for air. Aoi did the same and lay down next to her.

"What the hell…" the hyena said.

Hearing his voice, Joanne raised her head up and spotted the armed predator. "It's him!" she said. "The one from the news!"

She quickly stood up and ran straight for him.

He swung his crowbar horizontally but she ducked under, sneaking behind him and locking him into a full nelson hold.

"Aoi!" she called. "Help me with this fucking Hunter!"

Aoi looked at the predator before him. He took a few sniffs and shook his head. "He's not a Hunter!" he said. "He's just a normal predator!"

"What?!"

The hyena shook the goat off of his back and sent her rolling back.

She looked up at him and reached for her knife. But when she was thinking back about what Aoi said, she pulled her hoof back. "He's not a Hunter, huh…?" she repeated his words.

The grey predator swung his crowbar from up to down, side to side.

Joanne never fought back but avoided and blocked on his attacks. But there was one she couldn't dodge. A kick to knee and then a punt to the face.

"Joanne!" Aoi yelled. The ferret released the blades of his claws and took a step forward.

"Don't…" the white goat weakly ordered. "He's… Not a Hunter… Right…?"

Aoi began shaking and sheathe his blades.

"Aoi… Just… Run…"

But the young predator didn't move from his spot and just looked at his fallen comrade.

"Whoa there, kid," the hyena said, pointing the crowbar at him. "Take one step and I'll make sure ya won't be able to recognize her next time. So do as I say and be a good boy, will ya?"

"Aoi…" Joanne called out again. "Just go…"

And in that instant, she was flipped to her side and taking blows from the crowbar on her back as she was pinned down by the hyena's foot.

"Stop!" Aoi yelled, kneeling down and raising his paws. "I'll… Do as you say…"

The hyena smirked and rest his weapon on his shoulder in victory.

 **Back in the forest**

With the Flock following him, the search for the target became widened. The team were split up, all of them on their own, including Elias Vulperus.

But unlike them, Max's nose was very good. He followed a faint trail that led deeper into the trees. The trail turned from faint to strong. He could hear crying. Sniffs. And the smell of salt was also mixed in the scent as he got closer.

There, he found the hyena that they were searching for. He was holding onto his wounds that was made by Max earlier.

Max's footsteps became obvious, the closer he got. But the fox stopped after the two came face to face.

"You're… One of the Flock…?" the injured predator asked.

Max shook his head. "I'm a… Private exterminator."

The hyena breathe heavily. "Then you're here to finish me off…?" Silence filled in between before he continued. He leaned back on the tree. "Just kill me already… I don't wanna live in this world anymore…"

Max frowned. "Earlier, you didn't eat any of the meat back at the barn. Why?"

The hyena turned to him and sighed. "I hated it…" he answered. Those words can be heard with a tone of disgust. "When I realized what I was eating all this time, I just avoided it more and more. Ma and Pa always does the hunting… But I never knew where they even came from." He turned to Max. "Do you know what it's like to eat red meat for so long that you have no idea what insects, fishes and birds taste like…?" The hyena began to form tears. He covered his eyes. "They tasted so good… And normal food won't be enough to satisfy me anymore…"

Max took a step forward. "Then…" he started off with a gentle voice. "That body this morning…?

He nodded a few seconds after he was asked. The hyena raised his head up. "I… Found her already unconscious…" he answered.

Max's eyes widened. "What?"

"Believe me!" he begged. "I didn't do anything to her! I found her unconscious in a car… And I was about to eat her… But I didn't! So… I…" His head lowered with his paws on the ground as he raked the leaves with his fingers.

"So you tossed her body on a telephone line then?"

"It's the only way for me to avoid eating her! I… I'd rather kill someone than eating them!"

Those very words left Max speechless. This Hunter was resisting the urge to eat. He didn't care if he commited a crime. Just as long as he didn't eat the preys.

"But… I can't hold it any longer…" He crawled his way towards Max and tugged on his pants. "I'm begging you…! Please…! Put me out of my misery…!" He then groaned in hunger and grabbed his stomach. "I'm… So hungry…"

But Max wasn't the kind to kill someone weaker than him. Especially those who were helpless. And this hyena was an example. He picked helplessness over eating a mammal all this time. The question was… How long has he been enduring this?

No… The real question is the present now. Max realized something through his train of thoughts.

"You said you found the mammal unconscious right?" he asked. "Who did that then?"

The hyena shook his head. "I don't know… I just found it."

Realizing that the junkyard was dangerous, Max began to get worried about Joanne and Aoi. What if that was what Ezekiel meant? About the hanging incident 3 years ago. It could have been done by the same mammal.

But it wasn't long till the hyena before him was shot on the shoulder. The predator yelled in pain and looked up.

On the cliffside Rodriguez was looking through the scope of his rifle with the muzzle smoking.

"Freeze!" called out Wright with Stephen following behind him.

Vulperus then appeared on the other side. The target was now completely surrounded. He looked around and screamed in the sky. Flicking his wrists, he finally draws out his blades on his braces.

The blades instead were sharp needles with the outer part being sharpened. It was as if he was wearing porcupine skins with its needles still intact on his forearms.

He leapt over Max and decided to go to his first mark. Or marks. The two preys he saw.

He landed in front of them and began slashing his arms left and right.

"Engaging target," Vulperus reported and finally began to walk towards the Hunter.

Max glanced back and looked down for a while. He groaned in frustration and shook his head. Bringing his head up and putting on his mask, he leapt towards the Hunter with all four and grabbed the hyena by the neck.

The target swayed his body left and right but later lost his balance and began rolling on the ground with Max still on his back.

Max didn't even withdraw his blades and just held the predator. "Stop it," he begged in a soft voice that no one can hear. "Don't do this."

"I… I can't…" the hyena cried and hammered Max's chest with his elbows to loosen the grip and rolled out of the lock.

As he stood up, he came face to face with the moving carcass who was sending him side kicks. With every move, he changes his legs, pushing the target to the corner. The predator turned around and free run on the tree behind him and got around the dead fox with a backflip, sending a dropkick behind him later.

Vulperus, who still didn't blink despite the attacks he absored, shook his head to get his vision back.

While doing so the hyena was shot from behind by Wright and Stephen. He growled at them as a warning but later gave in. He ran towards them pinning the black goat down. He flipped over to get the prey on top of him and bit his neck.

The black-wooled prey screamed in pain.

"Stephen!" Wright called, aiming his pistol at the target. But he didn't take he shot because Stephen was in the way while being chewed up.

As the hyena began tearing off his flesh with his bare teeth, he felt a strong push from under him, flipping him around. And before he could react, he was punted in the neck, getting off the prey.

He looked up to see Max, crouching while breathing heavily.

Max made a jump towards him and tried kicking him only to be blocked. But he was exactly aiming for that and the moment his foot that was deflected touched the ground, he sent a spinning kick with the other leg to the target's temple.

The hyena touched his head in pain, losing his balance slowly.

And without giving the chance to recover, Vulperus swept his legs off the ground and dropped his leg on the Hunter's neck, locking him in a scissors move.

The hyena, grabbed the dead fox's legs and began grating his thighs off with his Sabre Blades. However, unbeknownst to the Hunter, Vulperus couldn't feel pain and the lock was still intact with him not moving an inch.

Realizing the lock was not being weakened, the hyena turned around, laying his belly on the ground along with the locker. He then, miraculously, get on his two knees and lifted the fox up over his shoulders.

Vulperus looked down, which loosened the grip for a moment after he realized he was off the ground, and was tossed to a nearby tree.

The target then grabbed his stomach out of sheer hunger. He turned his focus on the goat he bit earlier who was being aided by his comrades and make his way towards his soon-to-be meal.

But that meal wasn't going to come because Max pulled him back and pinned him to the tree where Vulperus was tossed at earlier. Without a second to lose, Max stretched the palm of his paws, drawing out the blades on the claws and shove it into the hyena's stomach.

He looked up to find his target with his mouth hanging open and gasping for air.

"Hope you find peace on the other side," Max spoke softly. Not waiting for a reply, he grabbed the hyena by the neck with his other paw and carried him up. And being resourceful as always, he stabbed the hyena in the back of his neck with the tree branch that was sticking out.

With his target now not moving, Max pulled his paw out and stared at the body that was pinned on the tree. The other end of the branch was sticking out of his throat with his mouth hanging open and blood still coming out. His stomach was pulled out halfway and the liver can be seen inside his body from where Max was standing.

Everyone once again witnessed another savage kill from the visitor of Vulper Island.

After the battle, Max remembered something. He ran back to where he came from. He stopped afterwards and turned around. "Get back to the junkyard!" he warned. "Aoi and that goat is in trouble!"

 **The junkyard**

As the team finished on their side, Aoi and Joanne were chained up by a beam opposite each other. The hyena that they met was beating Aoi with the crowbar repeatedly.

Joanne, whose face was so swollen, could only watch. She didn't even had the strength to call out to her comrade anymore.

Aoi was taking the blows with gritted teeth. His face was bruise but not severe enough. He was really tough. His shirt was torn off. Cuts were made on his torso as his body hanged on and absorbed the beating he was receiving from the host of the junkyard.

The hyena then sighed and looked up in the sky. "God, that was satisfying!" he yelled. "Not many mammals are tough like you, kid!" He smirked and grabbed his face. "Unlike your little friend there, she's almost dead. So don't faint and hold out more okay?"

Aoi sniffed and tears were made. He didn't say anything and lowered his head as a sign of agreement.

The hyena slapped his cheek softly as thanks. "You have no idea how boring it was to hurt someone until they die," the host continued. "It's better to beat someone who can actually take pain. Makes me… Relief…" With one last smirk, he raised his crowbar, about to hit Aoi in the skull as hard as he can. But he couldn't do it.

Without warning, a bike was heard from the entrance and it was speeding up towards the grey predator. And before he could look to that direction, Max ran him over, sending him flying to a stack of broken cars.

Max got off his bike. He was still wearing his mask from the fight earlier. He looked at Aoi and cut off the chains with his chromium-made blades on his braces. "You okay?" he asked.

But Aoi didn't answer and walked towards Joanne. He cut off the chain with his claw blades.

Max looked at the hyena who was recovering from the hit. He clenched his fists and screamed, running towards the host. He sent a punt kick to the gut, hitting him against the car again. Max was angry. And he was about to take it all out on the one who hurt his acquaintances. He grabbed the hyena by the neck and prepared his blades.

"Don't!" Aoi yelled at him.

Max glanced back and gripped the neck tighter so that there was no escaping for his target.

"He's not a Hunter!" Joanne yelled as loud as she can with little strength left.

The fox breathed heavily and snarled. "So what…?" he asked in a deep and threatening voice, tightening the grip on his neck some more.

The hyena's tongue stuck out as he struggled for air.

Raising his arm up, he readied the finishing blow. And as it was making its way to his target's face, his arm was pulled back.

He looked to his side and saw he was stopped by Vulperus, who finally arrived along with the rest of the team. They, except for Vulperus, went straight to Joanne to help her out.

Vulperus then kicked him in the chest, kicking him off to the ground.

"Get out of my way…" Max said.

Vulperus stood there, all calm with no signs of fear. "I refuse," he said.

"That guy tried to murder your friends… Why are you stopping me?!"

Vulperus glanced back at the helpless predator who was still in need for air. "Because he is not a Hunter," he answered with a straight face.

Max was baffled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Flock exists to exterminate Hunters only. We can tell the difference between the Hunters and other mammals. That's why…" He looked back at the predator, now his body also facing him. "No matter how rotten the world has become, our missions only involve the Hunters. If there was situation of attempted murder and a Hunter who hasn't begin hunting, we would always choose the Hunter first. Even if it means letting one of us go."

Max widened his eyes. His fists were shaking. "So you're saying… Between your friends about to get murdered and a Hunter who hasn't even done anything, you'd go for the second option…?"

Silence at first. "Yes," Vulperus answered with a nod. "No matter who the mammal is, whether if they are criminals, as long as they aren't Hunters, then we have nothing to do with it. That was the condition for our work."

The young fox looked down. Paws still trembling with his teeth being clenched this time. A few seconds later, he calmed down and sheathe his blades. He took off his mask. There was a sour look on his face.

The foxes stared at each other again like they did when they first met.

He turned around and walked to his bike. He looked at the whole Flock. "I'm glad I'm not in this team then," he commented. After saying that, he put on his helmet and rode out of the junkyard, leaving the team to themselves as well as the murderer.

Vulperus walked away from the injured hyena and opened the back door of the van for the team to carry Joanne in.

"Nice job," Wright said, patting the dead fox on the shoulder. "I can't imagine how much the cleaning cost will be like."

Vulperus didn't say anything but sat next to Joanne. She rested her head on his thighs while Aoi and Stephen sat on the other side.

"Stephen, you're hurt," Aoi said, noticing the jacket on the shoulder area was torn off.

The black goat laugh. "Don't worry about me, Blue," he said. "He just bit me. He didn't manage to take a small part."

Silence was occupied with the sound of the running engine of the van as it drove out of the junkyard. The hyena was left there and the Flock seriously decided to forget about him. It was as though it never happened. The group was right behind Max and when they reached the stoplight and stopped next to him.

Wright looked outside from the passenger seat and his eyes met Max's behind his helmet. No words were exchanged. There was no need to. Because it was obvious the fox had nothing in common with the Flock. While they only get rid of those who feast on lives, Max would rather dirty his own paws on anyone he sees as scum in order to prevent more from happening.

The light turned green. And Max was the first to notice this. He shifted his gears and rode with a loud roar from the exhaust of Theta. Rodriguez drove off with the same speed as him and when there came two junctions, both went their separate ways. That was the last that they saw each other for the day.

Max's head kept repeating Vulperus' words to him earlier. ' _No matter how rotten the world has become, our missions only involve the Hunters._ ' But he didn't argue. Because he knew the others agreed. The proof was that they didn't even say anything about vengeance. All they did was help Joanne and Aoi and that was it. They never questioned why he did it, they never asked about what happened. As long as it doesn't involve any Hunters, they were fine with it. Even if one of them has to be the victim. But he knew they were glad he stopped that murderer from continuing his torture on their comrades. That was what mattered to them.

On the other side, the Flock stayed quiet for a while. But the deer turned around to look back at his team. Everyone was suffering, hurt and wounded. And the only one who hasn't muttered in pain was the dead fox.

"Elliot would have been proud," Wright complimented.

There were no comments. And for the first time after a while, Vulperus blinked. Perhaps he was able to feel after all. Who knows…

 **President Quarters, HERD HQ**

In a room where curtains blocking the view to the president's table, there sat a wild boar behind it.

The wild boar wore a very majestic looking suit. He was sitting on a wheelchair. He looked like he was in his 80s. There was a set of three scars on his face, from his hair to his left cheek. Because of it, a little part of his hair didn't grow back. And because of the wrinkles, he looked very intimidating. There was even a claw mark on his right tusk.

He looking at the monitors on his desks. They were all live feeds of the build in the headquarters. But there was one that the wild boar was really looking at. It was a video of the same thing being repeated over and over again.

A video of Max Zero. From how he came before the Flock to his recently kill.

The boar tapped his hoof on his right cheek. A smile was placed on his face along with his wrinkles.

"Max… Zero…" he said to himself.

As he was watching the clips, a knock on the door was heard. The door opened and a silhouette appeared behind the curtains. It was a tall mammal with a large mane.

"Dustin Corbett, reporting for duty," the silhouette said, standing straight. ( _Dustin Corbett was the lion that met Ezekiel in chapter F._ ) "I have amazing news. Project Osiris is ready anytime."

"Oh? The project where one does not require nutrients?"

"Yes, sir. I just need your permission to be approved. And I shall run the final test."

"I've already told you, Corbett. Do whatever you want. As long as I'm happy with it. Mistakes can be fixed in the future. But of course, you will be the one responsible for it."

"Of course, sir. Thank you." The lion bowed, leaving the room.

The boar's head turned from the sound of the closing door back to the monitor. He replayed the video of Max's fights and observed them carefully. He chuckled. "I wonder though, Corbett… Can your project really go up against him?" The boar leaned back on his wheelchair and looked out the window. "Max Zero… Theodore Fanger… It doesn't matter who he is. That mammal, truly is the embodiment of nature. But I'm sure, there will be more expectations to his capability… Or… Perhaps not… Nature always takes its course with time after all… Can science really prove it wrong finally… Corbett?"

Deep within the underground cells of HERD HQ, there lay a mammal on all four. All his body parts were chained up. His torso, his legs, his arms and his neck. He was squirming, while growling like a trapped animal. The sounds of his snarls echoes through the hall. He looked up in the ceiling and roared loudly.

High unexpectations has just began to make its way. And it will start through the mysterious caged mammal…

* * *

 _Morals of Max Zero_

Justice has no meaning. The one deciding justice would be the one in power. Because power is exchanged often, the meaning of justice changes. I have my own sense of justice. And it doesn't require power to be spread. It just needs to be set an example.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** **(Insufferable Instinct)** Having different perspectives for their jobs, Max and the Flock decided to work their own way. Will this affect their relationship? Next chapter, Elias Vulperus was assigned a special mission from HERD: Training.

* * *

 **A/N:** And the climax of the first half of the story begins soon. This is the part where I've been wanting to write a long time. I already can't way to get to this part. Hoping to update very soon.

OCs that appear

Elias Vulperus belongs to Elias Nick

Daniel Rodriguez belongs to Frost8423

Maria Jelavic belongs to otaku shoujo

Aoi belongs to an unknown guest user and a friend of otaku shoujo


	9. Summary of the first half of Zero

To all who have been reading this fanfiction, I just want to say that I'm sorry. Because the story will be discontinued. It was too long. I have summary versions of it still if you'd like to read it.

And before you ask why I decided to call the story off, it is because something happened to me with some other readers. Remember in the first few chapters, I asked if they wanted their OCs to appear. When I was discussing with them, they weren't thrill at all about what would happen to their characters. Before Elias Vulperus' debut in chapter C, there was someone else named Max Volkov. He was suppose to be the dead predator coming back to life. But because the owner didn't like how it turned out, I replaced him with Elias Vulperus instead. Elias belongs to a friend of mine.

Because of this, I made sure I told the owners of their OCs about what would happen to their characters and they weren't happy at all. They would say that their OCs are out of character and all that, which I can understand. But that's the point. All I said was if there is anyone who wants their characters to appear not to be introduced and be told of their own adventure.

They even would start complaining like why is other OCs get to be main characters. Like Aoi for example. I have my reasons. Because Aoi is the first ferret OC that I have encountered and I just have to put him in to show how tough he was for a tiny mammal.

They are other OCs that I was lent to but they all took it back and told me to forget about it. And because of that, I was struggling.

Long story short: People weren't happy how I put their OCs in my story. Some because of their characters were out of character. And some because they didn't like the outcome. As I've mentioned before, I only said I want them to appear. Not to officially put them in the story. And now that I think about it, there's not one prey OC that I've received and it got me thinking because they are afraid that the prey OCs would die and get eaten.

Anyway… First and foremost, thank you all for reading. I'm sorry that I will never write this again. But as I've said, this is my last Zootopia story and I kept my promise. There won't be anymore Max or Sophie and anymore of my story. I really am thankful for you all. Because of that, I'm confident my novel will be approved. My dream is to be a writer after all. So thank you.

There will probably be some grammar and spelling errors because I didn't bother checking them.

Chapter summaries for Zero:

 **Chapter I (Insufferable Instinct):** Elias was ordered to go to a given-coordinate forest by HERD and he heeded them. Flock was also given a new mission. Their mission is to enter a restaurant. The restaurant was rumored to be normal at day time but a feast on night for Hunters. The Flock called Max to help since he was close to one. He and Joanne got in diguise and a jaguar chef showed him a seat but brought Joanne to another room for cooking. While being seated, Max looked at everyone who were eating grilled meat quietly. One of them, a vixen, told him that it was not what they wanted and they would die of regret than to die of hunger. Which got Max to hesitate a bit because he now knew that they were aware of what they did was wrong. While talking with the Hunters, Joanne finds out the jaguar was going to kill her and fought back, bringing the fight to the dining room. The whole Flock broke in after hearing the commotion and began their assault. The jaguar then get the other Hunters to escape while he fights off the Flock and Max but was later killed being boiled alive. After killing the jaguar, they chased the others who were escaping. But they stopped when they found their bodies during the chase. HERD members in suits was there and they revealed what killed the Hunters. A gas that is able to kill anyone who has an intake of red protein, a high ratio of amino acid. HERD announced their new project, Lono. The Lono Project was to spread the gas during the ran, covering the whole island with it and killing off any predators that consumed red meat. Meanwhile Elias make his way to his given destination and meets someone he was very familiar with. His older brother Elliot who was suppose to be dead. Elliot's skin has rotted and they were replaced with carbon fiber to support his movement. Blades were implanted inside his body, making him untouchable from every angle.

 **Chapter J (Just Business):** The Vulperus brothers fought off as they were ordered to the point where Elliot almost cut Elias' head off. But the training was considered complete. The two brothers return. Elias to the Flock and Elliot to HERD. When Elias returned, Max was there as well and everyone was surprise to see how injured he was. He told them that Elliot has been resurrected making everyone but Aoi a bit worried. They explain to Max who Elliot was. Elliot was a Hunter who betrayed them when Elias didn't want to hunt and so the two siblings ran together and seek for HERD to help. Elliot was the first in Flock to die. Max was digusted in HERD's way and warned the them to stop the Lono Project since there will be innocent Hunters dying. The Flock refuses because they think all Hunters should not exist. Max went so far as to give Elliot and Elias as examples which then he thought that Hunters can change. He leaves them, sets on his own again to do it his way. The next day, HERD calls in the Flock for another mission but with the absence of Elias since he was recovering. They were brought to a field where Elliot was standing there and without warning he attacked them, saying this is for the sole purpose for testing his strength. While struggling to avoid fighting, Max appears and fights off Elliot. But he lost with a hole in his stomach and was at the brink of death. HERD immediately ordered Elliot to stop and took the fox to base for an operation fast.

 **Chapter K (Keeping the Promise):** After a successful operation, Max ate as much meat as he could that HERD has offered him. While eating, he meets Maria, the one in charge of the Lono Project, to call it off as he has other plans. But she refuses but promised that they will provide safety for him just in case. However she said that she bringing Elliot was a mistake and the other supervisor, Corbett was the one in charge of that plan. She asked him to get rid of Elliot as he was suffering more than his brother, Elias. Because of this he has given up trying to persuade them and decided to remain in his path until the day comes. He meets Flock who was in the waiting room and they said they were worried about him. The group and him still don't see eye to eye and has finally decided to not get involve with each other anymore. But Aoi begged them to stop quarrelling and even paid them each other coins even though he knew it wasn't enough. But Flock accepts it and found a loophole to what they said: The work for money no matter the amount. Because it's still money. While recuperating and healing the wounds in their relationship Ezekiel meet Elias who was walking somewhere. Ezekiel says that deep inside, Elias was still alive after all because he didn't straight up kill him. Ezekiel follows Elias which they soon meet up with Elliot who was hunting down any known Hunters. Elias then remembers his promise that he made with Elliot, which was to put him down if he is beyond from saving. The two predators lost, due to Elliot's improved fighting coordination. Max and Flock then arrives and prepared themselves to kill the long-gone predator. They were that desperate that they even allowed Ezekiel to help them. Due to fighting for too long, Elliot was exhausted and his muscles could not hold it anymore. Aoi delivered the finishing blow by ripping off his spine, causing Elliot's brain to stop functioning. Before Elliot was silent, he thanked the Flock and died with a smile, proving that there was indeed signs of life within him. The reanimation project was finally cancelled and HERD has dispose of every information of it after Elliot's failure to fight forever. The Flock and Max went their separate ways after they finally came into good terms. As everyone in Flock enjoyed their dinner, Aoi noticed that there was something wrong with his usual chicken bruger. Daniel Rodriguez took a bit and tasted it and said nothing was wrong. Realizing that it was not the food, Aoi remembers about the time in the Hunter restaurant. It was at that time where Aoi ate prey meat for the first time. And his taste buds began changing.

 **Chapter L (Lono Project Begins):** With the upcoming rain being forecasted, HERD has prepared the gas and drones to spread it through the entire island. But before that, Flock was given one last mission before the project begins. A Hunter was seen in the sewers and HERD suspects that there could be Hunters hiding from the gas. When arriving to their location, the team was split up. Max was also called in to help. But his real intention was different. Rodriguez was on camera watch, Joanne and Wright were together and Stephen and Aoi were together while Max went off his own. Max found the group of Hunters and realized one of them was the vixen he met at the restaurant the other day. He told them to hide somewhere else because Flock is trying to get them out. Stephen and Aoi then encountered a berserk Hunter but failed to take it down. They began chasing him but Aoi was too weak because he hasn't eaten for so long. And all of a sudden, Aoi attacked Stephen and began biting his limbs off. Rodriguez saw this through the camera and rushed down there. As the group of Hunters got out of the sewers to find some other place to hide, the berserk Hunter also escaped from the sewers and this time attacking its own. Max fended it off, helping the group to escape before Flock could find them. Rodriguez arrived at the scene to find Stephen on the ground with Aoi eating a part of Stephen's arm in front of him. The wolf raised his gun up, going for the kill but Stephen stopped him, begging him to not kill Aoi. Aoi, realizing what he has done, ran away in fear and escaped the sewer. Joanne and Wright regrouped with the other two and quickly make their way out as well to get Stephen help. The time of the Hunters begins and Aoi purposely sat outside in the open to get himself killed so that he may never do what he did to Stephen again. After Max killed the berserk Hunter, he went to look for the remaining Hunters that has escaped but instead found Aoi sitting in an alley. Aoi told Max what had happen and Max hesitated to killing him. Ezekiel then appears, hitting Max from behind, knocking him out cold. He then offered Aoi a choice to continue living but as a Hunter now. Aoi accepted reluctantly with one condition, that is to not kill any members of Flock.

 **Chapter M (Mother):** After Aoi's disappearance and the completion of the Lono Project, Max decided to go back to Zootopia after no signs of Hunter traces. He promised the Flock that he will find Aoi just as he promised Maria that he would watch over him after he returns to Vulper Island. After finally going back home, he meets Angel who happened to be in his house and Sophie who was in pain, lying down on the couch. Surprised to see his sister, he asked what happened to Sophie. The pain didn't last long as she finally calmed down. And as night approaches, a guest visited the Zero household. An old vixen in a knitted cloak appeared by the door, claiming to be Max's mother.

That's the first half of the story. I will post the second one tomorrow. Again, I apologize.


	10. Summary of the second half of Zero

**A/N:** I didn't bother checking for errors. Sorry…

Chapter summaries for Zero:

 **Chapter N (New Breeds):** 4 years after the Lono Project, HERD has dissolved and has abandoned every plans and future projects after the 'extinction' of the Hunters. Little did the island know, that there were survivors and HERD begins a new team of Flock, known as Neo Flock, to exterminate the remaining Hunters. The business was running as usual. Maria Jelavic became a new member and is the new heir to the Sabre Blades that Aoi once wield. Daniel Rodriguez is also a part of the new team. One day in a new mission, the target was an odd one because this time it was a deer. To the team's shock to find a prey eating its own kind, they had no idea what to do. Maria didn't hesitate and fought back but did not kill it. While Neo Flock was lost as what to do, a fox appeared with a bike and to Maria's surprise, Max has returned. Max was victorious and with the help of a new kind of arsenal along with the Sabre Blades. A leg gauntlet with fin-like blades across both his calves.

 **Chapter O (Omen):** After escaping the scene before Neo Flock could attack, Max sets off to find his father, Ezekiel. The scene is cut to Maria looking at a picture of Aoi as a hob. Neo Flock received another mission while HERD is trying to find out the cause of what turned the prey to devour meat. Because of the new species of Hunters, Neo Flock was powerless. Max arrived again and helped out Neo Flock, tossing the Hunter into the grinder. While taking a break, a mysterious vixen appeared before Max and to the fox's surprise, it was his sister, Angel, who was covered by blades on every open part of her body. She wore a metal muzzle and unfamiliar eyes, as if she was someone else.

 **Chapter P (Personal Affairs):** To Max's disbelief upon meeting his sister after a few months later, she attacked him by surprise. Without uttering a single word, all she did was fight him to the point where he had to fight back. He didn't kill her but injured her instead until he knee were bent the wrong way. But she felt no pain and pushed her knee back into position. Max was shocked and was thinking something else when he saw her reaction. She stood up firmly and then walked away from him. He was about to chase her but was stopped by Neo Flock for apprehension. Max obeyed and followed them willingly to the new facility of HERD. They began questioning him about the preys turning into Hunters. Max told them that there was a new kind of virus spreading through a water source. The location and the originator was unknown. HERD then asked for his cooperation as he did so in the past. Max agrees if they were willing to accept his condition. That is, to not kill his sister as he made a promise to kill her himself. They accepted in hesitantly and put him in a room where he was properly fed. Maria meets him once the interrogation was over. She commented about how taller he was when she last saw him. She asked him where Aoi was and Max doesn't know. However, he plans on finding him too. They began discussing of what happened during his absence in Vulper Island. But as they were about to engage an important topic, an alarm went off, signalling another Hunter. The Hunter this time is an elephant, sucking the brains out from its victim by using its trunk. Max and Maria fight off the elephant. But because of the size difference, they were no match. As Max was about to continue fighting, he stopped halfway, smelling blood from the victim and begans to get hungry. Maria noticed this and attacks Max to get his senses back but instead fainted from a lethal blow to the head by accident.

 **Chapter Q (Quite the Reunion):** After bringing Max back to HERD, Maria continued on asking him questions of what he has been doing all this time. He said he was busy being a husband which did not answer much. He then asked her about the unanswered question from earlier. She said that things have changed a lot. She has been training to take Aoi's place and his whereabouts are still unknown. What she was surprise was to see his sister who is now a Hunter but no records of her hunting lately. Max began to think that Ezekiel might know about it. But there was no lead for the past 4 years. After a few questions from HERD, Max was free and has offered to help them but decided to go on his own. Because of his relationship with them long ago, they trust him. Few hours later, another report of the escaped elephant was sighted and Neo Flock was once again on the move. Maria who was hesitant about killing the prey has given up all thoughts and decided to finish it. Max joined in along and worked side-by-side with her. After managing to cause some damage on the target, Max cut off the trunk and mashed its brain from the nostrils with his bare paw. Neo Flock who finally saw his savagery for the first time, stepped back but Maria didn't move as she trust him. Though the rest was afraid of him, Maria assured he was on their side. As the team were heading back to base, Max went his separate ways from them. And while going back to his safehouse with his bike, he stopped when he saw a huge mammal standing by the streets. They looked at him and the fox was surprised to see him reuniting with Ezekiel.

 **Chapter R (Rebirth of the Lost Bond):** Surprised to see his father again, he got off his bike. He was about to ask him a question but he stopped him and asked him to follow him. He got in a car and Max followed the vehicle by bike. They arrived at a forest near a beach where a water tank was there. Beside the tank was a severed arm. Ezekiel told Max that the cause of the preys turning into Hunters was the cause of an infection by Hunters that contains lysogenic cells. Who did this was unknown and Ezekiel was trying to track the culprit down. He was furious because Hunters were only fit for predators. He then talked to Max about what happened. That Max almost ate the elephant's prey. Max denied it and said that he was glad he was knocked unconscious and claimed that he will NEVER eat anyone. Ezekiel smirked when he heard 'anyone'. And asked if he already knew everything. Max nodded and said it was thanks to his mother which surprised the tiger. Max explained that he has met his mother already and she told him everything. When Ezekiel asked where she was, Max answered that she was gone. For good. To Ezekiel's dismay, he accepted her death and thanked Max for taking care of it. He walks away, telling Max he will keep in touch. Max stopped him, asking Ezekiel where Aoi was. Ezekiel said no but Max insisted since he knew that it was Ezekiel who he saw was with Aoi before he left the island. But Ezekiel was strong with his answer, claiming he has no idea where Aoi was now. While Neo Flock was taking a break, Maria was staring at a picture of her childhood days with Aoi. As she was daydreaming, the alarm went off, signalling a new target. Their mission was to follow a deer that works in a barber as the target was seen carrying a bag every day. When the target arrived at home, the deer unveiled the whatever it was in the bag which were body parts of a mammal. Seeing this, Neo Flock shot her, killing her in an instant. To their shock, they realize she was unable to get up. And then in comes a timber wolf who noticed the deer on the floor. He roared and went berserk, attacking Neo Flock. Maria fought back but because of the numbers, Neo Flock had the advantage. As the wolf was in no condition to fight, a familiar ferret arrives at the scene, protecting the wolf. He told the wolf to run and that he was an ally. Maria was frozen to see him again now with multiple scars on his body. Neo Flock was about to shoot Aoi down but another mammal appeared and this time it was Angel who was still wearing her metal muzzle. She stood by Aoi's side, preparing to fend off the enemy.

 **Chapter S (Siblings):** With their fight one-sided, the team kept calling for Maria but she just stood there watching them being attacked. When all hope seems lost, Max arrived and was surprise to see not just his sister but Aoi who was also there. He tried to shake Maria to get her to realize but was useless. He gave up and defended Neo Flock but was powerless as he had no intention to hurt Aoi and Angel. But the fight became more of a shocker when Ezekiel appeared and help Max and Neo Flock. Everyone was cautious of him and pointed their guns at him. Max raised a paw, telling them to let him. Ezekiel then began to explain and found something during his investigation. He claimed that it was Aoi who poisoned the water supply and was the one responsible for turning all mammals into Hunters. When asking what his reason was, Aoi said it was for the sake of all predators. He wanted to make his own family and decide to turn every mammal the same as him so there won't be any fighting anymore. Ezekiel then tells him that there is no way predators will ever get along with prey that way and has finally realized that taking him in was a mistake. When asking about Angel's situation she just remained quiet. Ezekiel and Max worked together to fight the two current opponents but they escaped after they were done with their duty. Ezekiel then made his own escape after realizing Neo Flock was aftering his head. Max didn't give chase and went to Maria's aid instead. She was still frozen in shock after seeing Aoi and was supported back at base. After getting Maria to rest, Max sets off to find Aoi or Angel to get some answers. During his investigation, he stumbled upon the timberwolf that Aoi and Angel protected. The wolf begged Max to kill him, reminding him of the situation 4 years ago of the hyena begging the same thing. He explained what happened. That the wolf has been doing this for months now. And that the deer was his fiancè and that she was helping him get meat every day. But he was sick of living like this because who he really wanted to eat was her. And he was resisting for so long to the point where he was not angry that she was killed but was also angry that he didn't get to eat her fresh. Seeing him like this, Max put him out of his misery by pulling out his intestines and liver, leaving the body there. As he was about to leave, Angel appears. She removed her muzzle and said that it was time for him to keep his promise. He asked what happened to her and she said she will tell him everything once it was all over. A long battle went on and he finally won, making her death as quick as possible. She then whispered something in his ear before resting in peace. She thanked him for keeping his promise which left him in tears as he said goodbye to his sister for the final time.

 **Chapter T (The Third Family):** After a heartbreaking seperation from his beloved sister, Max was met up with Ezekiel at night at a tunnel. He told him of Angel's death and her burial which left the tiger speechless. He then mentioned something called Xenia Project. Ezekiel asked how Angel knew because she wasn't suppose to know. He told him that it was their mother that told her at that time without him knowing. And because of this she met with the mammals working on this Xenia Project. He then told his son to not get anymore involve as it is. But he persistantly decided to keep going until he finds out the truth. Meanwhile with Aoi, Aoi was seen with a group of predators talking about changing the rules of nature. A messenger appeared, reporting Angel's death which leads the group into sadness. When asked how she died, the messenger said it was Theodore's doing as he witness it with his own eyes. The group began discussing on what to do now. The leader, a bear, said to forget about him as they were looking for a mammal called Matthias. The scene then showed Maria who was in bed, sitting up and looking blankly at her paws. She was still remembering about Aoi and could not take her mind off him. But she was shook off from it when Max paid her a visit. He told her that he knew where Aoi is now but what he was about to do may break the promise he made to her. She asked what he was about to do which he didn't answer because it was obvious. She didn't know how to respond and told him to give her time to decide. Max pays her a visit and brought her some burgers as return for hers. While they were discussing on what Max found out, the alarm rang, signalling a new Hunter is found. Maria decides to follow this time. It was taken part in an abandoned playground. This time two Hunters. One prey and another predator. The victim this time is a female otter. Maria and Max fought them but didn't win as they weren't completely recovered. Max was about to get up on his feet until suddenly, an interruption began. A shirtless fox walking around aimlessly was clicking his tongue a lot while looking in the air blankly. He turned to the mammals and began sniffing claiming he smells blood. The two Hunters attack him but he fought back. He keeps looking around, dodging every strike and would pull their limbs off mercilessly with his bare paws and kills the predator by splitting his jaws too much. He then looked around and smiles at Max. Max notice his eyes were white, and there was a scar across them, proving that he was blind. The clicking of his tongue was his own form of echolocation. On the fox's head was the tip of an antler and deformed stripe pattern on his back. He asked Max if he knew who he was. Max answered yes hesitantly. He then says the new face's name: Matthias Samuel Fanger. His twin brother…

 **Chapter U (Uncovered Past):** The story takes place 3 years ago in Zootopia after Max's reunion with his mother. She comes in and helps Sophie rest who was in pain. She then faints from exhaustion and was helped back to rest in the room. When Max asked his sister what has happened, she did not know anything. They then for the first time in 20 years met their mother who was an old vixen. She began telling what has happened and why she vanished all these years. She revealed that unlike Angel who was a full predator, Max was also half prey. She explains to him that he wasn't born naturally. Instead, he had four parents. The first two were Ezekiel and her. But the other two were dead and were eaten in their family. She explains that he was born as two zygotes and was the first chimera and has multiple animal genes inside him due to mixed species. Ezekiel's family has been a mixed of predators as well as Marilyn's only her parents were the first in her family tree to start. Because of this he was more than a normal mammal and his growth rate is faster. She also revealed that his lifespan is a lot shorter than normal mammal and will die in the another 20 years. Max at first didn't believe it but he eventually gave in when he realized how Sophie was now pregnant. But what she said next was more than he could take. His baby was not going to make it due to lack of necessary calories. Sophie who overheard this stepped in, struggling to walk and she said she was willing to do anything to give birth to her child and have it live. Marilyn then says she needs to eat meat as the baby has more predator blood. But it wasn't just any meat… It had to be red meat… Raw since it was filled with a lot of proteins. Max disagreed with this plan and decided to abort it. But Sophie insisted. He eventually had no choice but to go through with it. Days have past and he would bring fresh bodies back home, having Sophie eating them. Because of the meat, it has affected her as well and she got weaker and weaker but the baby was getting healthier. And in just 4 and a half months since she was pregnant, she gave birth to a doe with fox ears and tail and the couple named her Sabrina. Angel became and aunt and Marilyn became a grandmother. Max and Sophie then got officially married privately. 3 years later, while Angel was buying some groceries, she never returned. Few days after she went missing, Marilyn went to go find her as usual but met with a familiar face instead. While Max went for his own separate search, he found his mother laying on the ground covered in blood in a playground. He ran to her and saw someone standing in front of her. A fox with the tip of a deer antler sticking out of his head as he watch. He didn't say anything and tossed him a pair of Sabre Blades and the two engaged in a battle already. Max did all he can and eventually the match was put to a stop when he slashed the fox's eyes, blinding him. He was last seen running away aimlessly. But Max focused on his mother without knowing who the unknown fox was and what his intentions were. She was at the verge of dying and there was no way of saving her. She whispered something into his ear, saying to return back to the island. And put an end of Xenia, the name of his birth. She then died in a few hours after paramedics arrive. Max returned home, and told Sophie to stay at Nick and Judy's with Sabrina, who was now 3 years old, as a precaution for their sake. The last thing he advised was to not suffer anymore since she's had enough to give birth to Sabrina. The scene then returns to 3 years later on Vulper Island where Max and Matthias met face-to-face. Matthias then says he is going to kill Max and feast on him.

 **Chapter V (Voicing for Freedom):** Matthias sat on the ground, all tired after savagely killing the two Hunters. He told him to not interrupt him and crawled his way to a body. He began eating it fresh and raw in front of everyone. Max who looked on in disgust was reminded of how he witnessed Sophie forcing herself to eat the meat Max brought every week 3 years ago. Matthias then looked at Max asking how his wife was which was left unanswered. Matthias just laughed it off and complimented on how strong she was. While eating, one of the members of Neo Flock decided to shoot to take advantage but Matthias was quick and kicked off the gun off before it was fired. He then sliced the mammal in half vertically from the bottom. He warned Neo Flock this time to not interrupt his meal time. Neo Flock then retreated with Max giving one last look to his twin brother. When on the way back to HERD, Max explained what his mother told him back at Zootopia. From the start, his zygote was monozygotic. While Max was given birth by Marilyn who was a predator, Matthias was given birth by their prey parents. The predator couple and the prey couple were having twins. And the mammal who created them fused one of the two with another and did the same to the other. But Max was the first to be given birth and was healthy while Matthias didn't grow properly because of the lack of protein he needed to be given birth healthily. But they still loved him regardless. However, one day, the couple was found dead when Marilyn decide to fetch Max that was being babysitted by them. She found Ezekiel who was feeding their children their own prey parents and was terrified. He then tells her why he killed them. Because it was their fault that Matthias was not growing well. But most of all, he blamed them for being preys where they can only eat certain food sources. And because of this, Marilyn chose to take Max who was still a baby and run away as far as possible to the point where he will never know where he came from. After hearing the story, HERD was giving him their full cooperation. As they make their way back to base, the transportation was halted by a group of Hunters, including those turned, with Aoi leading them. Aoi and the others ambushed them and began going on a killing spree. Maria froze seeing Aoi going berserk and Rodriguez however didn't hesitate to fight back but didn't manage to get himself to hurt his former comrade. Only Maria was hesitating. Until gunshots besides from them were fired. The old Flock team appeared. Wright and the Germain siblings returned by fighting back. However, they were using stun guns instead of dangerous arms. Eventually the Hunters pulled back, claiming they were doing this for the sake of their freedom. Aoi was the last to leave and he turned back to them to take one last glance before he escaped. With the old Flock team reunited, everyone was left speechless.

 **Chapter W (Where Lost Bonds Return):** The scene is shown where the three retired Flock exterminators returned and met with their old teammate, Rodriguez. They asked if he was still doing this for money and he said yes. But they didn't believe him because he didn't kill Aoi. With a lot of the soldiers dead, everyone picked up their bodies and gave the old Flock a ride back to base for some explanation. They said they were doing their own investigation and have found what Aoi was planning few days ago. When Max asked where they got the info, they said it was thanks to a tiger called, Obadiah. Max was glad to hear that his uncle was still alive. Upon arriving, he borrowed a bike from HERD because he said he needed to do some things. When Neo Flock returned with the old members, HERD was surprise to see them healthy and well. Even though Stephen had lost an arm due to Aoi eating it. While the explanation began, Max returned to a nostalgic place, the unnamed motel that his uncle owned and where he use to stay during his time on the island. He successfully found him when he saw the old tiger on the bench outside. The two hugged each other after so long. Max told Obadiah that Angel has been put down and apologizes. Obadiah was confident it was sure to happen and said that it was okay. She needed him after all. The scene focuses on Aoi looking into the ocean on a cliff with the rest of Hunters. They began discussing about the further infection and how many more comrades they have gained. But as the conversation kept going, a scream was heard and Ezekiel is scene with a head of a deer with fangs in his paw. Ezekiel then says he will put an end to this forced conversion and began his hunt on the prey-turned-Hunters and those responsible. Everyone was killed by Ezekiel easily but Aoi managed to run away. As Rodriguez makes his way to the hospital to meet his mother, he received a call on the way. It was from the hospital reporting to him that his mother was missing. Surprised by this, he almost ran someone over. But as he looked closely, he saw his mother that was in front of him and exited the car. She was covered in blood all over and smiling at him with a piece of limb in her paw, asking if he wants some. Rodriguez froze in fear. Returning to Obadiah and Max, the two was seen walking around a beach until they found a hidden cavern. Inside, was supposed to be where the Xenia Project was held. Before they could progress any further, the lights went out and Max was ambushed in the dark. Realizing this scent, he knew it was Matthias. The chapter ends with Matthias taking a stand and saying, "Now you know what I'm seeing."

 **Chapter X (Xenia Ends):** Even though it was in the dark, Max could see a bit with the help of his night vision. But it was pure darkness to the point where one has to be close to him in order to be seen. Because of that Max had to depend his other senses just like Matthias was doing now. The fight was evenly matched. Whenever one was down, the other was too. The clawed each other, bite each other like crazy. The fight was then stopped after the lights were turned on and a voice called out to stop. Everyone turned to the voice and realized Ezekiel was there covered in a bloody mess. Matthias realizing his father stepped back as he was ordered. Ezekiel and Obadiah met for the first time in a very long time. When Max and Obadiah asked where the lab to the Xenia Project was, Ezekiel told them to help themselves as Xenia was already changed to a new kind of project which he hates. Max then asked whether if it was turning every animals into Hunters and was right. But what Max was more worried was Aoi. Ezekiel assured him that he didn't kill the ferret. Yet. Matthias and Ezekiel left the caverns in peace and Max and Obadiah entered it next only to find multiple bodies laying around. Some were bite and chewed off and some were in pieces. Not a single one was in one piece. Realizing that Xenia has seen better days, the uncle and nephew decided to burn the whole place down to make sure nothing was left behind. While doing so, Max asked how Obadiah knew all this since he told him that he didn't know anything before. Obadiah then told Max it was Angel who met him for a short while and she gave him a note filled with the truth of Max's birth. But he never saw her again the next day. The two mentioned how much they missed her and that she will be remembered as a true family forever. Back to HERD, the old Flock were in the meeting room to discuss the situation that was currently spreading. The meeting was interrupted with Rodriguez entering without knocking. Everyone present there was shocked to find him covered in blood. When he was asked what happened, he answered truthfully. He had to kill his mother who turned into a Hunter. He then decided to kill Aoi but with his old team as their redemption for not killing him 4 years ago. The old Flock was then presented a special grenade called Scatter Shot. Maria who was just in the other side of the room heard this and hurried leave the room but was met by her mother, Natanya. She asked where she was going. She stayed quiet and just left her unanswered. But Natanya already knew and decided to keep it to herself to see what happens next. As Aoi escaped as far away from the massacre as possible, he rested in a field where he was confident no one would find. But coincidentally, Maria found him laying on the ground with an open wound. He asked how and she said it was because this was where the first time they met and was confident he would hide out here. As the two enjoyed their reunion, a fox makes his way towards them. Aoi realizing who it was tried to get up but couldn't. It was the blind fox, Matthias. Matthias smiled after finding the familiar scent. He began his attack without a moment's rest. Aoi fought hard and desperately and eventually won. But his celebration was cut short when Ezekiel attacked him from behind. Ezekiel, instead of killing him straight on, he began pummeling Aoi calling him 'traitor' repeatedly as his skull break. And as the tiger was about to do the finishing blow, Maria shoved her paw deep into the tiger's back and pulled out his spine with sheer force. Aoi was stunned but was too injured to show it. Maria carried Aoi up to his feet and the two ran as far as possible. The chapter ends with Matthias finding his father stop breathing and screamed in frustration.

 **Chapter Y (Young and Wanted):** Maria and Aoi escaped to a church and hid there until his wounds heal. However, little did Maria know, her Sabre Blades had a tracker in them. Natanya, who was the only one that knew Maria was with Aoi, kept quiet to herself. Meanwhile, after returning from the destroying the caverns, Max and Obadiah began their search for Aoi but what they came across was something unbelievable. They found Matthias who was lying down on his father's carcass with his eyes swollen. Matthias realizing two presence woke up immediately but after confirming the scent and his echolocation through tongue-clickings, he calmed down. They asked how it happened. Matthias answered that it was someone else. He didn't know who it was but he remembered it sounded like a female. Realizing this, Max knew who it was immediately. But he stayed quiet when he saw his twin brother mourning over their father. No one said a single word but they knew what needed to be done. They helped buried the dead tiger. Meanwhile at HERD, while Natanya was doing her work, she was interrupted by the old Flock. They asked where her daughter was and wanted her to join on their side to finish one last job, that was to put down Aoi for good. Natanya stayed quiet but was later threatened by Rodriguez who was at his limit. Otto, the jackal, stepped in and pushed him back. However, Natanya asked them if they really could kill Aoi. But not a single one answer. Because of that, she showed them a map on exactly where they were with the computer. The next day, as the panther and ferret were sleeping, the door to the church opened and in comes the Flock. Maria noticed this and blocked their way. They however didn't attack. Instead, they said they wanted to talk. After waking Aoi up, Aoi smiled for a while but then stopped after remembering that they were now his enemies. But the Flock assured him they weren't. Rodriguez told him that he has gone through enough and that he even had to kill his own mother who turned into a Hunter because of the infected water supply. But he never once thought about forgetting the memories they had. Stephen then reminded Aoi of the arm that he ate but the goat said he didn't mind at all and that all this time, he was crying the moment he disappeared. Joanne then said that the kindergarteners missed Aoi and even showed him a necklace made from multiple animal-shaped origamis tied to them as a lucky charm for him. And Wright then showed him the quarter. It was the same quarter that Aoi paid to unite the Flock and Max together 4 years ago and it was unspent. Wright then says it was because it was not money to him but a sentimental value. Aoi then cried, realizing his mistake. But he knew he could not accept change anymore because he was no longer the Aoi they knew. But Flock and Maria didn't believe that. As the scene gets dramatic, the windows and doors burst opened and all guns were pointed at Aoi by Neo Flock. As they threatened him, Stephen dropped a smoke bomb, giving the two predators time to escape.

 **Chapter Z (Zero):** After burying Ezekiel, the three predators was lost for words as they rest under a gazebo. Ezekiel will never be officially announced dead just like his daughter, Angel. With silence the only thing alive around them, Matthias has had enough and leaves, telling them that he was going to find and kill the one that murdered his father. Max leaves also but for another purpose. Obadiah told him to be careful as the situation may end soon. Days have passed. Aoi and Maria were nowhere to be seen and Matthias was still hunting them with his nose. Max was looking for them on his own after hearing what Maria did. As the search went on, the Flock found Matthias who was walking around. Recognizing their scent, he fought back but was no match to their experienced teamwork. To actually put him down, the used the special bullet on him, turning his body in ashes. More days went on with the panther and ferret still unknown. But Max found them coincidentally at an abandoned playground. Surprise to see them, Max was hesitant about talking to them. However, the two looked so exhausted. Max then asked whether or not if this was what they want and they answered no. But they knew that putting them down was for the best as they've already stirred up too much trouble. While interacting, the Flock met up with Max through a tracer they placed on his bike. But it was immediately turned off the moment they got the coordinates to avoid the Neo Flock's interruption. Max then gave Aoi a burger and reminds him of the first thing the ferret gave when they first met. Aoi began to cry and called them unfair, telling them that they should have killed him long ago. Maria could only watch and hugged him for comfort. But Aoi has finally decided to end it. Before the fight began, Max took out a small box with two rings and puts them on Aoi and Maria's finger, pronouncing them as husband and wife. Because of this, Max has promised Maria that he had protected Aoi until the end. Therefore, Aoi doesn't need to be protected anymore. Maria then accepted Aoi's decision and began to walk away after giving him one last kiss to seal the marriage. The Flock then gave their regards to Max and was happy he was the one putting their old comrade down. Aoi and Max began fighting the moment the area was clear and Max came out victorious with his right paw soaked in blood. The Flock and Maria said their thanks and helped picked Aoi's body back to base. With what has happened, the original Flock has officially retired but Maria stilled works for HERD to continue he late husband's legacy. A week has passed and it was time for Max to go home. The water has been purified from the lysogenic cells and the Hunters were regrouped but this time accepted. Max who gave his position as leader to Obadiah and said that he will one day return to retain his title and has hoped to see progress. He then returned to Zootopia with his wife, Sophie and daughter, Sabrina, who were happy to see him back safe and sound but with some new scars.

Epilogue: 2 years later, Max and his family moved to Vulper Island and it was more peaceful than before. After meeting his uncle, the tiger kept him up to date of the situation. The Hunters have been rehabilitated into normal predators and HERD has dissolved after a drastic change. The old Flock members can be seen working regular jobs now and Maria surprised Max with a baby in her arms. She then claimed it was Aoi's son as well. The baby was a feline with the fur pattern of a ferret. But the genes were mostly feline. Maria called him Sora, named after the meaning of his father's name. Obadiah helped Max and his family moved into the Fangers' estate and the first thing Max did was took out a book. He then wrote something on it. 'Fangers left: 0'.

 **A/N:** _And that's the end. To otaku shoujo and her friend, thank you so much for being a part of this story of mine. I hope to read your fanfiction. Please let me know. I would love to read it. I'm sorry if the ending it's sad also by the way._

 _I was inspired to make this story because of this news from my country that happened long ago before I was born. A woman was selling human meat and people said that ever since they ate it, they can't taste any other meat the same anymore. It was to the brink where they even begged for the authorities to put them out of their misery. It was a very tragic end and it got me the idea to write this. Sometimes even curious to know whether if there IS a way to actually cure this kind of addiction._

 _I'm so sorry the story ended like this. Even I was sad. But I'm human and I have my limit. Plus, I'm working on a book of my own which I hope gets published. Just hopefully that is. Anyway, bye-bye. I probably will come back to write. It might even be a Zootopia one. Who knows?_


End file.
